Paths Entwined
by Gyoro and Ururun
Summary: Tasertricks! During the fight with Malekith, Darcy and Ian are zapped away to Svartalfheim after Jane accidentally hits them instead of the elves with her device. Ian manages to get back to Midgard, but she finds herself hopelessly trapped there alone. Until a supposedly-deceased God shows up and turns out to be her only hope of getting home. Rated M for sexual implications.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** This is post-TDW and AU from there. It will encompass CA2 somewhat, but quite AU…also, I started writing this before I knew much about the infinity stones, so they are also quite AU and I think the colours match the comic stones, and like the Aether is the power stone because I didn't realise it was the reality stone at the time. Anyway, you'll see. It's not explicit, but I rated it M because later there is a scene and it's not faded to black, but not explicitly written either, just kinda implied I guess? I'll put a note on the chapter it's in just in case.

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter one**

 **Rebirth**

Consciousness returned to him slowly and the first thing he felt was the dull ache from the wound given to him by that damned elf. Still, the pain wasn't quite as horrendous as one might expect it; then again, he was rather desensitised to it by now. Little truly hurt the dark Prince anymore, save for the death of his mother. He remembered the moment he was told the news by the guard, how he had simply nodded to the man before he walked off, leaving Loki alone again. The very first few seconds held him in shock; surely the Queen of Asgard, his mother, a fierce warrior in her own right even if such was often forgotten, could not be _dead_. After the moment had passed, he had stood up and spent some time simply taking out his anger, sadness, loathing and grief on the items within the cell, not caring about image or pride. His very last conversation with her simply haunted him. His words had not seemed to sting her; whether she had hidden her feelings or knew he never meant them, he would never know.

Loki clenched his eyes shut, trying to ignore the feelings that he had quashed in all of his mischief and spite, tormenting Thor and acting out for lousy thrills. Thrills that were becoming easier as time passed; he was quite used to numbing himself to the pain and letting what must really be his true nature through. After all, he was a Frost Giant, even if he was a runt and abandoned by his people. No, Loki would forge his own path as his own person. Loki. No home, no race, no name other than that of his given one. Loki laughed to himself, sitting up easily and his fingers flying to the wound in his lower chest; it was already well on its way to healing and the blood was dried. Loki used magic to heal it up completely and fix his tunic before standing up slowly.

He walked a little distance, feeling the effects of the convergence and even seeing some of the dead elves lying around. Loki couldn't help the smirk that came to his face as he took terrible amusement in seeing their dead corpses. Those that killed his mother; the last semblance of love he knew, though a small tug pointed at the possibility of Thor. But, no. Thor loved the old him; the one untainted by the bloodshed. He held onto a hopeless dream. _That_ Loki was dead. Another part of him died with his mother. Loki was now his own Agent; destined for whatever he desired. It was simple, really; he could easily sneak into Asgard and put an end to Odin's life. He could become the King of Asgard…though that posed the question of Thor. Loki shook that thought from his mind; he did not care for his not-brother. He cared for no one.

After all, who would care for him?

Loki's attention was drawn to a small sound that was punctured by voices. He turned invisible to assess the situation. Two mortals, a young man and a young woman were looking around the place, clearly lost. After all, they were the first mortals after Jane to step foot on Svartalfheim.

"Where the heck are we?" The woman asked.

"Uhh, I have no idea," the man responded, looking around with slightly wide eyes. He started walking forward, looking for some way back.

"There are _cars_ over there! It looks like this is where everything keeps getting dumped," the woman said. Loki chuckled quietly to himself, wondering how the poor, lost little mortals would find their way back. However, that was partially answered in the next beat as the male was suddenly pulled back to Midgard, he would assume. He watched as the female ran forward to where he had been, but didn't also disappear.

"What?! Intern? Ian? Where are you? Why can't I—" The woman proclaimed. "Typical." The little mortal huffed and looked around, fixing her glasses and kicking at some dirt. Loki came up behind her and made himself visible.

"How sad. Lost and alone on this desolate wasteland," Loki said softly. She whirled around and looked up at him, her eyes narrowing momentarily before they widened in recognition.

"You…you're Thor's brother…the one who terrorised Manhatten and sent a giant robot down to kill us in New Mexico," the woman proclaimed. Loki cocked his head, smiling all the more.

"Yes, although I am not Thor's brother. Clearly he is still quite thick-headed. You must be one of his mortal lover's little friends," Loki spoke.

"Darcy. My name is Darcy and you're supposed to be dead," Darcy said.

"Dead indeed. The universe has other plans, apparently," Loki said. He laughed a little. "Does he mourn?"

"Of course he does! You didn't see his face when he mentioned that you were dead; Erik was relieved, but Thor wasn't. He, oh nevermind. I am _so_ not getting into this right now. Because I'm stuck on a place that looks like something out of an Austen novel with a murderer who'll probably kill me," Darcy said, but Loki noticed there wasn't a tremor of fear in her voice where there should be. She seemed more worried about being stuck _here_ than with whom she was stuck _with_. Interesting. Loki stepped closer to her and leant his body to the side like he was trying to work out a curious puzzle.

"Are you not frightened?" Loki asked, closed-mouth grin plastered on his face. Darcy looked at him like she had forgotten he was there.

"I am a little worried, but not scared. Not much, anyway," Darcy said, looking around and stepping cautiously away from Loki, walking a little through the dirt. Loki watched her for a moment before turning away. However, his attention was brought back to her when she screeched. Darcy was backing up and he saw a bunch of Dark Elves looking disorientated for a moment before spotting Darcy and she pulled out a weapon quickly and fired. One of the elves started shaking uncontrollably before the others aimed theirs at Darcy. Loki swooped forward, dipped low and stabbing one of them with his knife, before turning and smashing another in the face. Darcy had fallen to the ground and Loki had defeated the five elves rather easily. Such ancient creatures, so weak. Loki turned towards the mortal lying on the ground and observed her. She held the weapon in her hand and he wondered if she had been the one to fell Thor on his arrival to Midgard. She had attempted to protect herself, but the sheer number of elves were too many for her to handle.

"What? Are you going to kill me now or something?" Darcy asked. Loki laughed and stepped over towards her, kneeling down in front of her.

"No. I have nothing to gain from such an action," Loki said. He stared at her for another moment, reaching forward and putting his hand around her weapon. He felt it shake and saw her finger deliberate over the trigger. Her face was full of bravery and determination, as if she were _daring_ him to try something. However, Loki made no further move for the moment, other than simply turn it over slightly to get a better look at it. He carefully yanked it from her grasp, much to her annoyance, to which he held up a finger before running a hand over the electrical device. Loki then gave it back to her and he watched as she looked at it suspiciously.

"What have you done to it?" Darcy asked. Loki stood up and brushed himself off.

"You will need more than a feeble electrical weapon to defend yourself out here; the green button will form a barrier around you. That way I will not have to fight _and_ protect you at the same time," Loki said.

"Wait, what?! What do you mean? I so hope you're not implying that I'll be coming with you, because I'm _not_ travelling with a mass murderer," Darcy said.

"You need not come with me. However, what will you do instead? I am the only way you will get back to your realm," Loki replied.

"There'll be one of those portal thingies…right?" Darcy asked. Loki shrugged.

"A slim chance, and it will not be long until the convergence ends. Perhaps ten minutes, maybe more, maybe less," Loki said.

"Whaaat…" Darcy said. "How the hell am I going to get home?"

"Your only chance would be to come with me; I can get you back there eventually," Loki smirked.

"Stay here and be stuck on some desolate planet or go along with a murderous alien and potentially get home eventually. Really tough choice," Darcy said. She sighed and looked around, as if hoping for a portal to open up and take her somewhere else. Asgard, maybe. Then at least she would have a chance at living past a day. "Fine, it's not like I've got any other choice, is it? Although, can't Heimdall beam me up to Asgard?"

"I doubt it; I would imagine he is in enough trouble with Odin as it is, and you are a mere mortal. He probably has not even noticed you," Loki said.

"Wow, they really neglected to mention how nice you are," Darcy said, walking past him and Loki smirked, thinking her somewhat amusing. The mortal girl got far before something came through from nowhere and made her jump. He could see that it was Malekith. Oh, how he would like to have killed him himself. Loki was then brought from that thought by the sound of Darcy's scream as one of the elves' ships appeared from nowhere and crushed Malekith. Loki walked forward, smirking widely and putting a hand on her shoulder, feeling it tense a little underneath his palm. Brave little mortal indeed. Loki stared at the ship for the briefest of moments before blasting it away, walking swiftly to the elf's fallen form and kneeling down. The elf was barely alive, but still alive at least. For now. A dagger flew into his hand before he stabbed Malekith through the heart, a twisted smile on his face. Once the elf was definitely dead, Loki pulled it out and magically cleaned it, stashing it away before turning back towards the mortal. She was looking rather pale and shaken. Obviously not used to seeing people die.

"Need you rest?" Loki asked.

"Oh, like I'm going to sleep with _you_ around. I may as well put up a sign saying 'stab me' on my chest," Darcy retorted. Loki smirked.

"Now why would I want to stab someone with your ample bosom? I am hardly one to waste such gifts," Loki said.

"Stare all you like, psycho perv; you're not getting any," Darcy said. Loki appeared right in front of her, which unfortunately didn't make her jump, and clasped his hands around her fine appendages.

"I have no time for such frivolities, as enjoyable as they would—" Loki started, before he was shaking and twitching, falling to the ground. He was conscious, just about.

"I said you could look, not touch, psycho perv," Darcy said, keeping her taser to her side. Loki laughed.

"You are quite something," Loki said.

"I'm surprised that even worked," Darcy said. "What with your magic and everything." Loki stood up and brushed himself off.

"I'm still recovering from my injury," Loki replied.

"You never did tell me how you survived…" Darcy said. Loki just smiled.

"I have no answer for you; I know not," Loki said. "Come, if you will not rest, then we will start our journey." Darcy sighed, wishing she could be anywhere but here right now. How on E…no, that wasn't really the correct term, now, was it? How on Svarralheim did she get into this situation? She was just an intern for an Astrophysicist; she wasn't cut out for all of this scary stuff.

She let out another sigh.

 _Here we go._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note:** I'm so sorry for the late update, I was supposed to upload this ages ago but time got away from me. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter two**

 **Breaking in**

Darcy was infinitely glad when they came across some boat thing that wasn't terribly far away from where she had met Loki. She reluctantly followed him and got into the boat, sitting at the front while Loki hopped into the back.

"Where are you taking me?" Darcy asked, warily. This was a seriously bad idea, but she had no clue what else she could do. The convergence was over and there was nothing to take her back, except Loki. Loki, the God of Mischief and oh-so-treacherous. She hadn't really gotten much from Thor or Jane about his involvement in all of this, but it truly sucked to have only him to rely on. If she got out of this alive, Darcy would go and find some safe, normal job where there was no crazy aliens going to cause trouble. That seemed to be impossible, though. New Mexico, New York and London had all found themselves in the paths of some form of destructive alien force and, well, maybe if she stayed in one of the places, disaster wouldn't return. Lightning never strikes twice. Oh, ha ha, terrible. Thor came to London twice. Oh _God._ What was she going to do?

"Are you quite alright?" Loki asked, though she doubted he actually cared.

"Oh, shut _up_. If you had been taken to some crazy place with no way out, I'm sure you'd be lost in thought too," Darcy said.

"Yes, it is called prison. Thoughts were the only company I had," Loki said, but it was almost cheerful. Darcy rolled her eyes.

"Where are we going?" She asked again.

"To Asgard," Loki said. She brightened up.

"Oh! Then I can go down the bifrost-whatsit to Earth, right?" Darcy asked. Loki laughed.

"Heimdall would not see where you came from and you would have far too many questions that you could not answer; I am afraid it is best if you stay with me for now," Loki said, smirking a little. Darcy frowned at him.

"Why are you so adamant for me to stick with you? Why didn't you just leave me on Svarralheim?" Darcy asked.

"Svartalfheim," Loki corrected her.

"Whatever. Answer the damned question," Darcy said, glowering at him. Loki shrugged. She growled. "Is this to do with Thor? I'm his friend so you want to mess around with someone he values?"

"Not at all; perhaps I wish for company, and perhaps I will need assistance in my endeavours. I like to be prepared," Loki answered.

"What exactly are you _endeavouring_ to do?" Darcy asked, imitating his accent a little. Damn him for having a sexy voice and being hot. Why couldn't he be a good guy? Although, even then she wasn't sure she'd stand a chance. If she got out of this, she might ask Ian out, and apologise for being mean. She'd just been so excited about getting her own intern and making herself feel a little bit more important, that she didn't take _his_ feelings into account. He was a nice guy, and hadn't just up and left her after all of her remarks.

"We are going to borrow the tesseract from Asgard, and maybe even the Aether; I imagine they have locked that up tight as well," Loki said.

"Borrow, huh? You mean steal, right?" Darcy said dryly. "I'm staying in the boat."

"You are coming with me; do you not seek adventure? Excitement? What do you do on Midgard that could possibly be more exciting than this?" Loki asked. _Shut up stupid hot alien._

"I…uh, do a lot of exciting things, thank you very much," Darcy replied not-so-smoothly. Loki cocked his head at her with a small, infuriating smile.

"Oh? Like what?" Loki asked.

"Fine! I'm just an intern! I graduated college with no job prospects and just continued on with Jane, brilliant Jane who has a hot alien boyfriend! I got myself an intern to make myself feel better. Are you happy now?" Darcy asked, babbling more than she really needed to. God, her life was rather dull. It was actually more exciting when these aliens came around. Urgh. And Loki was now smiling smugly.

"Then you will find far more adventure and excitement if you come along with me. I cannot really guarantee your safety with or without me, but despite what you know of me, I have always been the one to keep my allies safe," Loki said.

"You know what? I can't really trust anything you say, but it's not really like I got much else going for me right now," Darcy said. Loki smirked as he pulled the lever thingy at the back and the boat started moving. It started off slowly, and they were there a long time, him standing at the lever and her sitting at the head of the boat in awkward silence. To her surprise he was quite focussed on his driving task and didn't look at her. She didn't look at him too much either; just sat staring out at the place. What a strange place; so murky, so gloomy. She was glad she didn't live here. It didn't look at all habitable. Still, she got to see another world without having an extraterrestrial boyfriend and Asgard was next…would she see any other worlds? If she did, she'd probably beat Jane in that respect. Not that she was competitive. Much. Well, okay, not _usually_ , but it would be pretty sweet. Darcy still couldn't quite work out Loki's deal; was she to be some sort of sacrifice in some sort of scheme? She'd read up on Norse Mythology after Thor left Jane two years ago, and it was all rather bonkers. Darcy thus wasn't going to take any of it completely seriously.

Darcy gripped the sides when the boat started going faster and suddenly they were flying through a very narrow gap and the sides were touching rock, sparks were flying off of it and it seemed to become rather colourful. It was so bumpy that Darcy ended up hurtling forward and she found her face next to Loki's boot. Oh, this was _not_ funny at all and she could hear the jerk chuckling away to himself like it was the funniest thing ever. She sat herself up and clung to the side some more. They seemed to zap through to…wherever the hell they zapped through to and Darcy was lurched back again. This time Loki took pity on her and caught her, pulling her up so that she was held fast to him. She looked around at the water they were flying over and felt like jumping into it; it was _that_ embarrassing. He did, however, hold her appropriately, so her beloved taser wasn't going to be needed right now. Darcy stepped out of his grasp once they were riding smoothly and sat down again, staring at the bottom of the boat rather than risk motion sickness. She looked up in time to see something shimmer around them and then looked up at Loki, who simply smiled.

"To make us invisible; we do not need anyone seeing our arrival," Loki responded without her having to utter a word. It was so _strange_ seeing such magic; she had grown up reading Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl and other books with magic in them, but _this_ was something different. Darcy was actually rather interested in finding out about magic now that she knew it existed, but she wasn't overly interested in interacting with Loki more than she had to; she was here for adventure and for the lack of anything better to do, and that was all. She looked out over the expanse, admiring the glittery, colourful bridge.

"Is that the rainbow bridge?" Darcy asked.

"Indeed; the Bifrost bridge, and at the end, the observatory, where Heimdall watches," Loki explained. Darcy looked out over to the left and saw the city. It was beautiful, even from this bad angle. They came towards the land and the boat ascended into the air and flew them out over the city towards the palace. It reminded her of Gallifrey from Doctor Who, except it wasn't in some weird dome. It also reminded of a very large pipe organ. She actually found she could ignore Loki's presence for the time being as she held fast to the sides and looked out over.

They came closer to the palace and landed in some little alcove in one of the pipey things. Loki got out of the boat and helped her out, even though Darcy really didn't need him to.

"Follow me, and listen to what I say, otherwise you will get yourself killed. Caught with me, you will be sentenced to death," Loki said.

"Aren't we going to be invisible?" Darcy asked him. Loki smiled a wicked smile.

"Invisibility spells do not work so well inside the palace; I am currently using a spell to keep us hidden right now, but it is not particularly good for the long-term," Loki explained, far too cheerfully.

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!" Darcy asked, fuming and panicking. _Oh God, oh God, she was going to die and it was in some stupid other planet. Greaaaat._ Then all of a sudden he was another person and she blinked down at herself. Darcy could see herself and yet see something else ghosting over her. She frowned and looked up at him.

"It is an illusion; I thought you would prefer that than the surprise of being shapeshifted into another gender," Loki winked. "Come, we are off to the weapons vault; where all of Asgard's most precious and dangerous artefacts are." _Kill me now. Oh wait, bah. Why why_ _ **why**_ _was she here? Was this some cruel joke by the non-existent higher powers? Ha. Loki._ Darcy sighed and walked in step with Loki as they walked through the halls.

"Now, make sure not to look around in wonder; you know your way around here, you are a guard," Loki whispered. Darcy nodded and kept her eyes forward, focussed on pretending to keep an eye on things just like a guard would. Theoretically. Stairs. Corridors. More stairs. Corridors. Endless passageways and whoa, now they were walking into something rather different. It was dark, but things seemed to just glow. Loki was quickening his pace and walked to a cube that was light blue and glowing a little.

"Hey, it's the C-Cube!" Darcy said.

"What?" Loki asked, frowning at her.

"Nevermind...Artemis Fowl reference…" Darcy said. Loki picked the cube up out of its case after presumably performing a few spells; it was all very silent and quick. Loki then looked around and walked over to some metallic glove. Or gauntlet or whatever they call them. Darcy had to admit it was kind of exciting being in this place; she didn't imagine there was a lot of opportunity to see the proverbial royal jewels of another planet. If only she could take a picture…oh, to hell with it. "Hey, can you take the illusion off now?"

"Now that I have the tesseract, there is no limit to what I can do," Loki said. Their illusions faded and something bubbled around them. Probably invisibility again. Darcy really didn't think this through; she should have just run away and tried to get an Asgardian's attention. Surely by handing him over they would overlook the strangeness of her being there? Plus, she could claim kidnap; it was practically true. Maybe. Darcy looked at Loki.

"What are you using this for? And the Aether…please, _please_ tell me you're not causing Ragnarök? Pleaaase? Or anything equally evil?" Darcy asked.

"Do you really think I would have you with me if I were performing an evil task? You are a liability. I had almost expected you to run tattling as soon as we hit ground," Loki said. Darcy blinked at him. Was he a mind reader or psychic or something?

"I figured you'd probably just catch me and kill me," Darcy drawled. He smiled and petted her hair, which she frowned at. Whether he would have or not, well, there was no answer. Darcy fumbled for her phone and while Loki admired the gauntlet thing, she went and took random pictures before walking back to Loki who had taken the gauntlet and she wondered if the 'admiring' was actually working out how to take it without triggering possible traps. He knew what he was doing, but then…she wasn't surprised by that. She watched as Loki made the tesseract smaller so that it would fit into one of the six circular slots in the gauntlet. Loki looked at Darcy.

"One down, five to go. The Infinity Gauntlet is an added bonus," Loki grinned. "Now we will see what is happening with Thor and his noble quest."

"It's the nearest you're getting to a noble quest," Darcy muttered, although almost regretted it when she saw Loki look at her, but he was still amused. Was this a good or bad thing? She imagined him the type to smile and murder you as if it were all a good joke.

"If you are quite done with your insults, we must go; I think Thor has returned to Asgard," Loki said, taking her hand with the one that wasn't clutching the gauntlet and wrapping his long fingers around hers. Surprisingly gentle for a crazy murderous God. Had someone fed her drugs and she couldn't remember? Because this was some weird shit.

Loki made the gauntlet disappear and she assumed it was one of those…things. Vanishing something somewhere where it was easy to retrieve it again, whereas not having had the item before, he couldn't just summon it from this place. One of the many things she would like to ask, but, well, she also didn't. She followed him out of the vault, through more corridors and a couple of sets of stairs until they were hiding behind a pillar. It was a large room and an old man was sat on a large golden chair. Darcy was a little uncomfortable with the fact that she was a little caged in with Loki right behind her as they watched Thor enter the hall. They were definitely invisible because there was no way in hell that they could remain unseen. They watched Thor and Odin speak, of the battle, of Loki, of how Thor could not take the throne. Darcy heard a little noise from Loki; something akin to surprise, maybe. Gods were weird. Loki was King of weird, just, well, not King. Hence the whole crazy nutter thing going on. When the exchange ended, they watched as Thor walked out and Darcy wondered who would take the throne instead.

Odin seemed a little surprised at the sound of Loki's death and he had an amazing pokerface, but the guy was clearly affected. Loki's an asshole. Why didn't he just announce that he was alive? Thor was devastated, she knew. But there was nothing Darcy could do. Not without getting herself killed and she kind of valued living. Loki took her hand again and she followed him out of the room after Thor. It was truly strange and she wasn't really sure whether it was in a good way or a bad way, the feeling of his hand around hers. They followed Thor until he came to Volstagg, Fandral and Sif. She recognised them and also realised there was one missing. She looked up at Loki before nudging him.

"Can we speak? Is there an enchantment on our voices?" Darcy whispered. Loki smirked.

"Of course," Loki replied.

"Where's, uh, Hogun was it?" Darcy asked. "He didn't…?"

"On Vanaheim, with his family, I would assume. I would have heard something by now if he were dead," Loki said.

"Even though you were a prisoner?" Darcy asked dubiously.

"There was one guard who took pity on me; kept me up-to-date every few months. Either that or mother would have…" Loki stopped, and Darcy noticed something then. He was staring at the ground and there was sadness in his eyes. He wasn't smiling either.

"So you did care about someone," Darcy said, but not in a mocking way. It was genuine. Loki seemed to shrug out of his stupor and looked back at Thor and his friends.

"We need to find out where the Aether is," Loki said. Darcy would let him drop the issue; it was clearly painful and she knew it had to be hard. No matter how much of a psycho he was.

"You never did tell me why," Darcy said.

"It is not important right now," Loki replied, and they watched Thor.

"Friends, I will return to Midgard…I do not wish to spend anymore time away from Jane," Thor said. He pulled out a stone cuboid and gave it to Sif. "Can I trust this to you? We cannot hide it here on Asgard with the tesseract; it would be far too dangerous. You know where to take it."

"Yes, certainly. I will gladly do this for you. And I know how much you dislike that place," Sif teased him lightly.

"It is unsavoury, but nevertheless appropriate. I thank you, Sif," Thor said. They started walking off, headed towards the Bifrost no doubt.

Loki didn't seem to be following. Darcy looked up at him.

"Aren't we going to follow?" Darcy asked.

"No. I know exactly where they will take it and ooh, Thor has had many a bad idea in the past, but this one really outshines them," Loki said.

"Why, where are they going?" Darcy asked.

"To the Collector's place; all sorts of unusual and rare items are collected by this man, and he isn't exactly as trustworthy as Thor thinks. In fact, these stones are in far worse hands with the Collector than I," Loki said.

"How come you never told him?" Darcy asked.

"I only fairly recently found out. As long as we retrieve it from him, we shall not have a problem," Loki said. Darcy heaved a sigh; things were only going to get more exciting from here.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three**

 **Into the jungle**

"So what do we do now?" Darcy asked. She was forever asking questions, but he knew he was being rather vague; he didn't want her to know what his plans were. Loki was not quite sure how the mortal would react, but he just needed her to come along with him. He knew one of the Stones would involve two people; it had been so well-hidden and so heavily guarded that he doubted even Thanos would be able to get it. What a shame. Loki had a long way to go before he could even consider taking Darcy to that place; he needed to study the Tesseract some more.

"We will rest for now, or rather, you will; take this time now to sleep and regain your energy; I will make sure we have enough sustenance," Loki said, leading her in another direction, through more corridors and up some stairs before they came to a door. He opened it with magic and led her up a set of spiral stone stairs that seemed to go on forever until they reached a landing with ornate double doors with a symbol of a snake eating its tail on each top pain.

"Is that an ouroboros?" Darcy asked.

"Very good," Loki said. He led her inside and he was rather relieved to find that his old room hadn't been touched…save for the odd hint of his mother's presence. It struck something within him and he quickly hid the emotion that welled up. His mother was the only one who had been able to get into his room; he didn't mind. Loki watched as the mortal looked around in awe. The room was a large space, with large floor to ceiling window panes to the left going out onto a balcony, accessed by one of the panes doubling as a door. There was a large four poster bed in the middle against the wall opposite the door. The bedclothes, pillows and curtains were green, while the under sheets were a rich gold colour. The wood making up the bed and posts were a dark mahogany. To the right of the room were two doors to his bathroom and to his study.

"Wow…this is incredible. This is in one of those large organ pipe things? It totally doesn't look big enough to house such a room," Darcy said.

"It is fortified with everlasting magic; even if the creator of the spell dies, or under strenuous circumstances, the spell will remain. There are, of course, ways in which to reverse it, but it involves a lot more than a simple spell," Loki explained. "Now, wait here one moment." Loki transported himself to the kitchens, invisible, his magic around his room potent enough to allow him such passage. Odin had obviously fortified the palace. Loki retrieved some food, made a slight detour and reappeared back in his room. He put the food down and followed the open door to the study, where Darcy was admiring all of the books.

"Have you read them all?" Darcy asked.

"Of course," Loki smiled.

"I suppose you've had plenty of time to; sometimes it makes me sad that I probably won't be able to read all the books in the world…you know, my world, anyway. Even more depressing now I know there are more worlds full!" Darcy said.

"Yes, that is a pity; perhaps you should fall in love with an Aesir and become worthy of an apple, then you would be immortal," Loki said in playful humour. The chances were extremely low. The girl whirled around to look at him with dry humour in her features.

"Is that your way of hitting on me? Because I'm sooo not interested," Darcy said.

"Not at all; you would get no apple by falling for me; I am both dead and disgraced," Loki grinned, turning and returning to the main room. "Come, there is food and then you must sleep." He sat on a chair in the corner and brought out the book he had also fetched from the library to read while the girl ate and slept. She didn't even bother accusing him of poisoning her, which was an improvement. There was silence for a little while, punctuating only by the slight noises of cutlery to plate, something of a novelty given the amount of noise he had heard in his time eating with Thor and the warriors.

"So, um, thanks for that," Darcy said, making him look up. He gave her a small smile and gestured to the bed.

"Sleep now, I will remain here and we shall make our way to the Collector's abode in the morning," Loki said.

"I don't have anything to change into, and I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep with you…there, even if you _are_ reading a book," Darcy said. Loki waved his hand and she was suddenly dressed in what he knew to be Midgardian pajamas. Green, of course. Just because it was good fun. He also made a potion appear on his bedside table. "Ha ha very funny. Green? You're so creepy."

"The potion will send you to sleep. Either way, you will sleep. Mortals are so frail," Loki said.

"And Asgardians like you are jackasses. Maybe even lacking a few limbs if you don't cut out these barbed comments against my people's lack of immortality. It's not our fault," Darcy said. Loki carried on reading his book through all of this.

"Just sleep," Loki said. The mortal soon got into bed and Loki was left with his thoughts. Just _what_ had awoken him from death? He had already survived the fall from Asgard. Long ago, many centuries past, his mother had saved the life of the twin daughters of Valhalla's Guardian and was granted two special wishes in return. Frigga naturally asked that her young sons be spared, should they come to the point of death, and Loki had used his up before he had even reached adulthood; a horrific and very rare illness that had him bedridden for months. So it couldn't be that; the Guardian of Valhalla could grant certain wishes on extremely rare circumstances, but never for nothing. It puzzled him, and although he knew Thor hadn't needed his part of the wish yet (the Destroyer killing him while he was mortal and being brought back to life was due to Odin and Mjölnir), he knew it wasn't transferrable.

Loki must have fallen asleep because he found himself blinking awake to find the mortal in front of him, her hand on his shoulder, looking rather dishevelled. Quite a sight, he had to say. Loki blinked some more and leant back in his seat. He looked to the side for a moment before standing up and fixing her clothes to some fresh, Asgardian ones. Plenty of mobility and yet, some protection too. Something like what Jane Foster wore, except with greens, gold plating and far more practical. He watched as Darcy stared down at her dress and went into the bathroom to presumably take a better look. Loki heard a few murmurings of awe and surprise before she came back towards him.

"So, it's pretty cool. Although, a little more revealing than I'm used to," Darcy said. Loki chuckled.

"You will blend in a little better and pose fewer questions. Now, you need sustenance and we shall be on our way," Loki said, the food appearing on a plate and he passed it to her. Darcy sat down, eating but looking suspiciously at him.

"You being nice is oddly more worrying than you being shady," Darcy said. Loki laughed.

"You complain when I am seemingly malevolent, and you complain when I am being generous; clearly there is no pleasing anyone," Loki said. Darcy finished her food quickly and Loki vanished the plate. "You will find your weapon sheathed on your person as well as a flask enchanted to always carry fresh water, along with a few other useful items. For now, we must depart."

Loki didn't allow her time to investigate these items as he led her out of his quarters and through the palace; he knew of a path out of Jotunheim that would carry them to their place of destination. Loki wasn't overly fond of the idea of traipsing into that wasteland once again, but his last failure with regards to the realm was by his own hand. He just had to make sure they both lived to tell the tale. Poor little mortal girl; the convergence really did do a lot of damage, and not even to the scale of the time before last, where Odin's father had apparently defeated the Dark Elves of Malekith's ilk. Loki knew that even if he had to take her through Midgard in order to get somewhere, he couldn't let her return home. No, he had a use of her; he would not let go of her just yet. Of course, once they got to Jotunheim, he could make use of the Tesseract and he would not need his full capabilities to transport them instantly anymore. Loki wasn't sure how long it would take his magic to fully recuperate; his time with Thanos and his time in prison had affected his abilities in a way that he could barely begin to describe.

They returned to the little ship they had been flying and Loki steered it in a different direction to which they came, to the left of the palace and he saw in his peripheral that Darcy was facing the front, practically on her stomach, giving him a wonderful view of her posterior. He sped the boat up and they soared through the portal that was a little away from the palace. Loki remembered the intricate spell; creating a temporary portal for the Frost Giants to use once they came to Asgard in order to get straight into the palace undetected. Honestly, he regretted it. Many chain of events later and here he was. On a small boat with a mortal; dead to most people and unwelcome in most places. Still, this was exciting enough. Admittedly the mortal girl was more entertaining than he could have imagined. Loki couldn't deny she was a good looking thing too. Loki managed to keep his eyes ahead as they sailed through to Jotunheim. It was…desolate. An eerie feeling of lifelessness ran through him and he saw Darcy shiver.

"We will be out of here in one moment," Loki said, bringing out the gauntlet. "Come closer to me, I have never used this properly. I would hate for you to get lost." He saw her get up with an eye roll and make her way over to him before he wrapped his arm around her, staring at the gauntlet and transporting them and the boat where they needed to be.

They appeared in a rather tropical place, but unlike what Darcy would be used to, the trees and leaves were massive. Loki noticed Darcy was out of the boat and examining one of the trees, amazed. It was rather strange and yet somewhat familiar; he remembered the awe and fascination he held for the new realms he visited when he was young.

"Wow, these leaves are bigger than me! Where the heck are we?" Darcy asked.

"Nidavellir, which is the home of dwarves and many other fascinating species. The dwarves mainly live in caves and underground communities, so the aboveground is built up if various different peoples, including fairies and trolls. It is also rather vast in forest and jungle," Loki explained.

"This is really cool. Although, speaking of cool, what was the place we were in just before?" Darcy asked.

"Jotunheim; home of Frost Giants and not a particularly pleasant place. Besides that, you would have frozen in little time if I were not to clothe you in warmth," Loki responded, watching the emotions play across her face; agreement and something else. Lack of concern for not having been able to explore it, he would surmise. He wouldn't allow it regardless of temperature problems; his head would be taken if allowed to be seen. "Come, we should go."

"Alright, but afterwards can we…explore this place? I mean, if you're able to transport us now, you have the ability to take me back to Earth. But you haven't, so you've obviously got some devious plan for me and the least you could do is give me some thrills before inevitable misery and/or death," Darcy said. Loki chuckled at her tenacity.

"You believe I will kill you?" Loki asked.

"You're the God of Chaos and Destruction where I come from; you were quite happy to kill all those people, so yeah, I don't think I'm coming out of this in one piece," Darcy replied.

"Alright, I can show you around a little," Loki said. "Now come, we should really be going." He took hold of her hand and led her through the wilderness.

"I didn't take you for a hand-holder," Darcy said. Loki looked at her with an amused smile on his face.

"It is easier to traverse through this jungle in such a way; many get separated in their journey," Loki said.

"You totally got lost from your mom when you were a kid, didn't you?" Darcy sniggered. He raised an eyebrow.

"You are quite astute," Loki said, surprised especially since she was only an intern, some assistant to a great scientist.

"Just because I don't know science, doesn't mean I'm a dumbass," Darcy said. "People forget that science isn't the only thing in the world." It was quite remarkable to feel some sort of likeness with such a girl; on Asgard, warriors were the norm and were highly praised, whereas magic was quite underappreciated. Loki was silent as he led her through the jungle, past big leaves and large flowers, making sure Darcy didn't have the chance to be distracted. It didn't take too long to find the strangely shaped, glassy building that sat in the middle of a mini island surrounded by a calm, purple-watered river. Flowers floated within it and Loki took her to the part before the bridge over to the building.

"We will enter invisibly; he will not give it up for anything, and you _must_ remain quiet," Loki said. "Inside will be many a strange thing; do not touch and do not stare for too long. When I tell you to do something, you follow my order. Otherwise you might find yourself trapped and I cannot guarantee your safety." He felt her hand shake; he was sure that if he was holding her hand in a more intimate manner, her fingers would have tightened around his. "Are you ready?" She nodded her head.

Loki led them across the bridge and he squeezed her hand to reassure her, before phasing them both through the door and into the strangeness of the great collection. To her credit, Darcy had barely reacted to that piece of magic and Loki could not really put his finger on why she seemed to trust him. Or at least, enough to get her through this. Loki walked through the labyrinthine mass of strange objects and glass cases, preserved bodies of ancient and extinct peoples and animals, obscure artefacts of differing levels of danger and placidity.

"Close your eyes," Loki whispered, before carrying on through a particularly nasty sector; a mirror to capture people inside, perhaps not activated, but he could not take the risk. That and even deactivated artefacts could work on mortals regardless. Aha, the orb of insanity. She'd lose her mind and become a walking zombie, or a lunatic without of a hope of salvation. He took her out of the section and told her she could open her eyes. Loki could feel the question burning on her tongue, but was pleased with her willpower. The whole floor did not have what he was looking for, but then, he knew it wouldn't. Loki could sense the Aether, and knew it was far below their feet. He found the stairs and helped her down them, leading her through more labyrinthine passages. It felt like an eternity walking through them, but they finally came to a room and he halted before the door.

"Stay behind me," Loki said. He ran his hands over the air in front of the door, feeling various enchantments protecting it. Loki smirked, the feeling of excitement at such a challenge. Although, they weren't exactly the strongest defences he had come across, so maybe only a slight challenge. He spent about five minutes working through the charms meticulously before they finally broke and Loki led Darcy through the door into a vast chamber.

"How…is there even _space_ for this cavern?" Darcy asked.

"It is much like my chambers; space does not necessarily need to fit the container," Loki answered. Loki walked straight towards the cuboid that contained the Aether and checked for enchantments and curses that may be placed upon the object. Naturally, there were even more here. He worked upon them, hoping that Darcy would keep her hands from all of the items here; they were all cursed in some way. There was no doubt about it. This was the treasure trove; the most valuable part of the collection and Loki could take it all. But he wouldn't; he didn't have time for that, and the more he took, the more chance of them realising it was him. Once he undid the enchantments, he brought out the gauntlet and released the Aether, locking it into its slot. He turned around to see Darcy admiring some old Elven artefact and walked over to her, taking her away from it.

"We are finished, now. Let us make our way," Loki said.

"What _was_ that thing?" Darcy asked.

"Used correctly, it could either trap your soul inside it or switch souls between bodies. It is quite a complicated object to use, however, and often the user would find their own souls sucked out. The artefact next to it is the soul container," Loki said. "I believe it was an attempt to recreate the Soul Stone, although they misinterpreted what the Stone does in the first place."

"Why was I…I don't know, I felt like I couldn't look away," Darcy said.

"In this state it would just mesmerise you, not strong enough to do much harm," Loki explained. "I will get us out of here now."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four**

 **New and exciting**

Darcy wasn't sure where they were now _exactly_ , but he _had_ kept his promise to let her see more of the place. Loki had transported them far from the Collector's strange house of mazes and _things_ that she couldn't even describe. She was someone who was curious about a lot of things she didn't understand; wanting to understand them, like how she would ask Jane questions about various objects and although she had problems with pronouncing the damn words at first (or she just liked mis-pronouncing, especially if it annoyed someone), it didn't make her any less smart. But that place…no, for once Darcy wasn't in a rush to find out. The less she knew, the better and Darcy imagined that Loki wasn't going to complain. He seemed like the type of guy who had no patience for questions, though she would keep asking them anyway. Hey, if he was going to drag her along practically against her will, then he could suffer for it.

They walked quietly through the jungle and Darcy was looking everywhere, admiring the large trees, leaves and flowers, seeing the odd glimpse of some moving creature. She wished she could see them properly and her wish was granted when one landed on her shoulder.

"It's friendly, right?" Darcy asked.

"As long as you do not anger it," Loki smirked. The creature looked around at Darcy's face. The animal was adorable; it was like a cross between a monkey and something mouse-like. Darcy reached up and stroked his or her little head, deciding to just go for it. It seemed to like it, and it seemed to get even more comfortable on her shoulder, lying down and doing something with her hair.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Darcy asked.

"She is female; they are friendlier. She is what you would call a Silkvossa; much like a monkey of Midgard, except more intelligent," Loki replied. "Let us carry on through." The Silkvossa was about the same size as a capuchin monkey, though sleeker and cuddlier looking. Darcy walked along, loving having a little animal on her shoulder. She suddenly stopped and looked at Loki.

"Shit, am I going to get any diseases on these other realms?" Darcy asked. Loki laughed.

"Disease is a mortal problem; you are more likely to spread disease than anythinig you find out here," Loki said, but waved his hand and a cup appeared. "Drink this, and you along with the rest of the realms will be fine." Darcy rolled her eyes, but drank it nonetheless.

"It's sweet; I expected it to be yucky," Darcy said.

"Come on, we do not have time to hang around; you wish to see more of this realm, I will show it you, but on the condition that we do not dawdle," Loki said.

"You're such a spoilsport. I always thought Loki was supposed to be this fun character, but the real-life version is so boring," Darcy said.

"I have far more pressing matters to attend to. Perhaps after I am done, we shall see how fun I can be," Loki said, smirking at her. Okay, she suddenly didn't like the sound of that. It was so disappointing too, since Loki had always been her favourite character in Mythology. What a pity. Oh well. Perhaps once they were finished with their little adventure, she could return to Earth and be _safe_ , if she were to get out of this alive. She still wasn't entirely sure that Loki would spare her. She really hoped he did; she was far too young to die. She almost jumped as she felt his hand at the small of her back, pushing her on, though not forcefully. It really confused her; he was both crazy and yet, kind of gentle. It was maddening. Darcy was sure she would need a lot of mental help after this. She walked with him in silence, examining the wilderness around them and also feeling the slight tugs of her hair every now and then. Her little Silkvossa friend was nibbling on her hair, she was pretty sure of that.

"Now what should we call you, eh? How about Milly?" Darcy asked. The noise the animal made sounded like it was a bad idea.

"Her name is Eryyi," Loki responded.

"Wow, so you have a name already," Darcy said. "I guess us humans are quite ignorant if we don't think that you guys don't name each other too." She reached up and stroked Eryyi's back. Her tail was long and glossy, the same reddish brown as the rest of her body, with the exception of her white belly and chest.

"She will likely be travelling with us now; she seems quite taken with you," Loki smirked. "Chewing on hair is a sign of adoration in their culture." Darcy was so touched and suddenly loved this little creature. They came out of the jungle to see a mountain standing tall in the distance, with grasslands before it. Suddenly their boat appeared and Loki jumped into it, helping Darcy inside as well. She sat down and held on as he flew them quickly over the grasslands, though for some reason she saw the grassland go by in slow motion while she _felt_ the boat flying at quite a speed. She looked at Loki and saw that he had a smug smirk on his face. Show off. Not that this wasn't useful; it was definitely less likely to cause her motion sickness, though she rarely suffered from it. Thank God.

Once at the mountains, Loki slowed the boat and brought it to a stop near the entrance before jumping out. After Darcy got out, he seemed to put a spell on it before leading her into the cave. _Holy shit_ it was dark! She tried walking for a few seconds before she ended up falling over. Darcy would have ended up flat on her face had Eryyi not landed on her feet and cushioned her face. She quickly picked herself up and cuddled Eryyi to her chest.

"Thank you, you cute and smart little one!" Darcy said, unable to believe how considerate and quick-witted the Silkvossa was. "Loki?" Suddenly there was green light and she jumped a little, the green glow lighting up his features in a seriously creepy way. Now that she focussed a little, he had his hand out as if he was holding a lantern, except it was palm up and a green fire floated above his palm. She let out a breath before looking back up at him.

"That's better…I don't know about you Asgardians, but I can't see in the dark," Darcy said.

"Then you are lucky that Malekith is dead," Loki smirked before turning and carrying on down the path. Darcy followed as carefully as she could, trying not to trip over anything even _in_ the light and not to get too far away from Loki and his light. She wondered where they were going, but found she was starting to enjoy this adventure; even if her adventure partner wasn't quite what most would ask for. Magic seemed to be rather useful so far, so she wouldn't fault him that. At least she had some light now.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, they started descending and Darcy was even more worried that she would fall. Now, Darcy wasn't a clumsy person; she'd never even accidentally shot anyone with her taser, like she'd heard people doing in stories (dude, put on the damn safety!) and she was a good driver when she was driving in America. Driving in London was _difficult_. She was just so _used_ to taking certain turns that learning a new system wasn't quite as easy as it might seem. But otherwise, she was pretty sensible and able to keep on her feet even when running. However, this damned cave was another matter and there were no holds or anything. So naturally Darcy tripped and she was a lot closer to Loki now that she fell into him and couldn't help but just _grab_ hold of him. Thankfully in a reasonably appropriate manner. Around his waist. Loki had stopped and she felt him turning in her arms and she just looked like she was giving him a rather awkward hug.

"Hi…" Darcy mumbled, faced squashed against him. He lifted her up and removed her arms from himself.

"Are you quite done? You do not appear to be able to walk for five minutes without trouble," Loki said, but there was a hint of a smile there. Bastard.

"I can't help it; I'm not used to walking in this sort of terrain," Darcy said. Loki laughed, which made him less creepier than before.

"Would you like me to carry you?" Loki asked, mockingly.

"No, just carry on, I just need to try harder," Darcy said. Loki stepped closer and before she could do anything about it, Loki had her around the waist and they seemed to be…gliding? down the tunnel in a glow of green light. Down and down they went for ages until they levelled out and opened up into a large cavern, where he stopped to let her look around. Darcy didn't know how far underground they were, but this was just… _breathtaking_. The ceiling was high and something up there glittered like diamonds in the light, though she couldn't tell where the light was actually coming from. Gazing downwards she looked around. It was like an underground community, doors in the walls, glittering bridges to the middle of the tiers that led to gardens of sorts and passageways leading to other places.

"Wow…is this another one of those bigger-on-the-inside deals?" Darcy asked.

"Indeed. This is one of many Dwarf communities; each community works as a unit and provides for each other. They are excellent craftspeople; I have heard that the Dwarves who created Mjölnir are still very much alive and well, but I have never met them," Loki said.

"Whoa, the Dwarves who created Myuh Myuh came from here? _Awesome_. Seriously, how did they make such a thing? Only Thor can hold it…I can't even _begin_ to understand how that works," Darcy said.

"Ancient magic; Dwarves do not possess magic as the Vanir do. Dwarves specialise in craftsmagic; anything that can create powerful weapons, cast charms and such to give them a special quality, making wardrobes that are bigger on the inside, and so on. The Vanir's magic is far less restrictive, though their craftsmagic is not quite as powerful as the Dwarves' nor is their healing magic as strong as the Light Elves'; Dark Elves possess tricksy and dark magic, or at least, those of a particular kind do," Loki explained.

"I thought Malekith and those guys were dead…" Darcy said.

"Those ones are; little known is the fact that there are ones who did not follow Malekith and reside underground. They are rarely seen, which is rather preferable," Loki said. He led her through the cavern and around the sides past what was presumably homes. There was a long drop to the ground.

"How do they not fall?" Darcy asked.

"There are barriers stopping such a thing from occurring; there are various bridges and something akin to those elevators you have, except a simple platform that floats up and down, all of which will get them around quicker. As you can see, the paths lining the walls with their homes spiral downwards slowly, so it would be a long walk to the bottom from here. Those wishing for quicker travel will use the lifts and bridges," Loki said. The path they were on went in both directions; right took them to the upper levels and left went downwards. She had to admit that while she probably couldn't live somewhere like this permanently, it was a pretty amazing place. Loki led them downwards and it was a long walk, but oddly refreshing. She and most other people in life only seemed to do things the quick way and she was starting to see that maybe that was the boring way.

Loki stopped at a door once they had gone round and round down the path for quite a while. This and the next four were all coloured purple with runic markings of some kind; honestly, runes were not really something she knew very well, just that they reminded her of them. Loki knelt down on his knees and sat on them. He looked at her.

"Kneel," Loki said, nodding to her.

"I bet you say that to all the girls…and Germany," Darcy said. He smirked. Insult and mock the guy all she wants, it didn't seem to be working very well.

"If you wish to make a good impression, I suggest you get on your knees. It is disrespectful to tower over a host when you are asking them a favour," Loki asked. Darcy rolled her eyes and knelt down. "See? That was not so difficult."

"You are so full of it," Darcy said.

"I have kept you safe so far, have I not?" Loki asked, giving her a rather annoying smile in an innocent expression. Totally didn't suit him. Loki knocked on the door and after a few moments a female came to the door. She had brown hair and brown eyes. She looked at Loki and Darcy could tell that the woman recognised Loki. Especially when she hit him upside the head with something that looked like a stone whisk. And he actually fell backwards. This was going in her list of favourite things to have witnessed.

"You have come here after your deeds?" The woman chided him as he sat up, rubbing his chin, looking none too impressed.

"I―," Loki started.

" _Do not even give me any excuses._ We forged those knives of yours for the good of the realms and you disregard our efforts," the woman said.

"Emyr, in fairness, I paid y―," Loki started.

"―for less than you would have, had we not been friends. Or was that just a ruse to get our goods for less?" Emyr asked. Boy, Darcy would not wish to be on her bad side. At all.

"If you would let me _speak_ , then I could tell you that that has passed. I made some terrible mistakes," Loki said. "I will not misuse your trust or equipment again."

"Very well…who is your friend? I trust you have not brought trouble into our home," Emyr said.

"Oh, we're not friends," Darcy added.

"Her name is Darcy, a human of Midgard. She is my current travelling companion," Loki answered. "She is actually a friend of Thor." Emyr seemed to be happy with that explanation.

"Come inside; a friend of someone as _noble_ as Thor is welcome here," Emyr said, making Loki roll his eyes before ducking inside the home. Darcy followed him inside and was instantly interested in the layout of the home. The ceiling was high enough for her to walk around comfortably; even Loki could stand up. The shelves and such, however, were quite low.

Looking around the place, she realised that the extra height allowed for more pictures. Or in this case, a large family tree painted across the room, taking up most of the space. It was beautiful. She was offered a place to sit, which she gratefully took. Loki sat next to her.

"Would you like a drink?" Emyr asked the two of them. "We have just brewed some rattling wine."

"Errr…" Darcy said, looking at Loki.

"Yes, one for each of us," Loki answered. "You will like it; it is sweeter than your wine and has the kick of your…spirits, I think." Okay, she liked the sound of that. Emyr came back in with two goblets and handed them to Darcy and Loki. Darcy thanked her and tried it, her eyebrows shooting up.

"This is delicious!" Darcy said.

"Drink it slowly; it is quite potent in comparison to Midgardian alcohol," Loki said. Darcy nodded, not wanting to end up drunk. That would probably end up in embarrassment and in all honesty, she couldn't really say that she wouldn't come on to Loki. Drunk her was not quite as smart. Emyr joined them with her own drink and sat down.

"You have come here for a reason; spit it out," Emyr said.

"I want to know whether you have any ideas as to the legendary stones of power; we already have the Space and the Power stone," Loki asked. Emyr's eyebrows raised.

"What do you need those for?" She asked.

"I cannot tell you; not for anything nefarious, I assure you," Loki said.

"I am not assured; I let you in here wishing to find out more, because quite frankly I still cannot trust you," Emyr said bluntly.

"Understandable," Loki said.

"As it is…I know very little myself, although Jör might know," Emyr said. Loki nodded.

"We would also like to stay here for a night, if you do not mind," Loki asked. Darcy was surprised by how polite and modest he was being. Then again, the woman packed a punch and, sure, Loki could probably overpower the poor woman, but he clearly valued her. Which was kind of nice to see, if strange. Hard to believe someone who had tried to take over her world and killed a lot of people, including the guy who took her ipod, could be like this and save Jane and Thor.

"You may, but I will have to charge you," Emyr said. Loki conjured a small velvety sack and took out some coins, placing them into Emyr's hand. "My children and nieces all have their own children now, so you can stay in their old rooms."

"Has it really been that long?" Loki asked, looking around. "I remember you told me that your children had moved out, but _grandchildren_. You must be proud."

"Certainly; we have been visiting _you_ the last hundred years. It is nice to get out of here once in a while, and in the last five years since we last saw you, I have become a grandmother. I am a very proud grandmother. We tried to invite you to my eldest's wedding two years ago, but we had thought you dead."

"I apologise. It was a bad time," Loki murmured. Silence stretched and Emyr then looked at Darcy. She smiled and started asking her about her life.

"Political Science, you say? I know little of Midgardian culture, I am afraid; I have never been there before. Dwarves do not travel much," Emyr said.

Darcy found herself talking to her about her degree and politics, asking about politics in the Dwarf culture and finding out that it was far more basic than Earth's. It was a collective leadership within a singular community and, on learning about the temperaments of their people, it seemed like it would work. It was quite fascinating, learning about their culture, and she made a point of asking lots of questions.

She was so lost in conversation that she jumped in fright when the sound of an explosion and screaming rippled through the mountain.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:** Again, sorry for the hold up. To the guest to reviewed, I'm glad you're enjoying it and thanks for commenting! Thanks to everyone who comments, they make me happy. 3

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter five**

 **Familiar ache**

Loki stood up immediately and hurried towards the door, opening it and stepping out to see large chunks of mountain and debris falling down from the ceiling. Dwarves were rushing left and right, heading towards the nearest exits that would lead them out in a state of emergency. Loki turned and saw that Darcy had left the home. He was the only one truly able to fight in this place; _how_ anyone had gotten into this mountain in such a way, was yet to be discovered. The Dwarves were very good at keeping themselves hidden and it was only his connection with them that he knew where they were himself. It irked him that someone had found this place and he felt his magic gather around his arm as he prepared himself for whatever might come down through the ever-widening hole. Some beings he didn't recognise dropped down, all on something like a board. They had pale blueish skin and varied eye colours. They had no hair, though some had intricate tattoos on their heads. Loki threw his arms out in an elaborate way and put up shields so that his friends could be spared. He started throwing his magic and knives at them.

He jumped back as one of them threw something explosive down at him and he pushed Darcy behind him, practically squishing her into the wall.

"Wh-what the hell are they?! Are they after you?" Darcy asked, making no move to get from behind him. Good. Loki didn't care that she assumed it was his fault; it was likely that plenty of others would assume the same thing.

"I doubt it; if they wanted me, there are much better ways they could have tried," Loki said. "Now, do be silent; I am the only one capable of combat in this whole mountain, aside from the murderous fellows who have just invaded this home." Loki moved forward, telling Darcy to stay out of the way as he started summoning his green magic around his arms and shooting it at one of them that landed on the ledge in front of him. There was absolutely no way these beings could be here for anything other than chaos. Loki wanted to know why, but there was simply no use trying to get something out of them. Loki had spent just over a millennia observing people and working out what made them tick; from the good to the bad to the in between. Right now, Loki considered himself an in between. Someone only really out for his own good, for the most part. Honestly, he was still trying to find himself. The blue being flew back into the far wall, dropping down unconscious onto the floor. Huh. That was easy. He hadn't met these beings before, so Loki couldn't really decipher whether they were supposed to be this weak or whether this was a trap. He clenched his teeth and threw knives embedded with his magic to another one, and the fight carried on as such. Chunks of dirt and even bits from individual homes rained down on them here and there as the blue monsters flew around the home and destroyed millennia-old habitats.

Loki felt his heart lurch as he tried his best to combat them, doing well but not well enough; there were far more of them than he had anticipated and he remembered something. A sudden feeling; fleeting and long-forgotten, a moment within the terror he had caused on Midgard when Thor tried to talk him out of his campaign against Midgard. All the destruction, the chaos, the death…all unnecessary. This was a little like that and he needed to make it stop. Without really realising it, the Infinity Gauntlet appeared on his right hand and he felt it clench tightly around his digits. Power and the feeling of invincibility shot through his veins as he rushed forward and punched one of them, pressing them down into the ground and killing them. Him. He looked male. They all did. Loki shot power out of the gauntlet and attacked another being, before he created many clones, all glowing a little in tune with the Tesseract before the whole home was fired up with a mixture of dark red and icy electric blue.

When the light subsided, the whole home was littered with blue bodies. Some still breathing, barely, some as still as stone. Loki looked around, breathing heavily and looking ready to hurt anything else that tried to carry on. He saw Darcy up against the wall where he left her; her hair was dishevelled, but otherwise she was fine. Loki saw her eyes widen when she locked eyes with him and there was fear in her features. He walked towards her, watching as she shrunk a little into the wall. He cast a clone and saw through his eyes; Loki had one dark red/almost black eye and one icy electric blue eye, swirling and glowing. It passed and his green eyes had returned. A side-effect of the gauntlet, no doubt. Jane Foster had become overcome by the Aether, but her mortal body could not handle it. Loki was used to great amounts of power flowing through his veins; magic was a life-force and worked much like the Infinity Gems.

Loki looked back at Darcy, who seemed to be trying to figure him out. He ran a tongue over his lips to rid himself of the dryness before he felt the gauntlet disappear along with the heaviness that came with it. He reached out and put his hands on her upper arms, frowning as she shrunk even more. Was he really that scary? Loki would have thought his actions upon Midgard would bring him such response, but she had become accustomed to his presence before today.

"Darcy…whatever is the matter?" Loki asked. He felt suddenly ill that he was showing something akin to _concern_ for this mortal. No. He needed her. He knew quite well that one of the Stones needed two people to retrieve it. Maybe two of the Stones. Not that he knew where they were, per se, but he did know some were heavily guarded. "All I did was protect―." _Smack._

She had _slapped_ him, her eyes focussed and angry. Darcy was breathing deeply and seemed to shake as she did so. _Smack._ His other cheek stung from the impact of her hand. Just as powerful. Loki found himself on the floor as she had pushed him over and he wondered what had gotten into her all of a sudden.

"You…I _knew_. I knew…I know! I know what kind of monster you are and yet, just seeing this…seeing you cause all of this…seeing these creatures cause such destruction to what I can only perceive as a peaceful haven…it's New York all over again!" Darcy said, tears in her eyes. "You _protected_ this place, sure, but why? Why do you even _care_ when you've destroyed so many lives? Or is it just us weak mortals you have a problem with?" Her lower lip trembled and she dropped to the ground, knees to her chest and face in her hands as she came apart before him. Loki fell back until he was flat, arms and legs almost like a starfish, and he stared up at the ceiling. The silence between them was only punctured by the sounds of the Dwarves around them, shuffling around and letting out cries. Their home was a wreck and the worst part was that none of them were pointing their fingers at him; he who could have easily been the reason the blue freaks had come here. Chances were they had. No matter what he had said…he didn't actually know. Loki was taken out of his thoughts as a piercing scream tore through the air. He jumped up at the same time Darcy did and headed towards the source. A home next to Emyr's; a young woman came out and Loki instantly recognised her as Jödin, Emyr's eldest daughter. She was hysterical and Loki watched as Emyr and other family members rushed inside the house. He followed them in, even though he didn't really feel welcome anymore. Following until they reached a child's bedroom, he saw the source of the grief.

A young girl, no more than twelve-years-old, lay on the ground with her eyes wide open. Dead. Loki had never been susceptible to the cold, but he felt an awful shiver creep up his spine as he swallowed thickly. He heard a gasp next to him and didn't need to look around to know that it was Darcy. Jödin was on her knees, clutching her child to her chest, sobbing her heart out and there was _nothing he could do._

"My Nyali; _my Nyali_ ," Jödin's voice seemed to carry through the whole mountain and Loki had no words. He stood there, staring at the one little girl who had died. As far as he could tell, no other person had died. It was strange, but Loki couldn't figure out why this had happened. Time seemed to slow and blur as he and Darcy were ushered out of the home and Loki spent some time fixing up the mountain, reinforcing it with strong enchantments and thinking somewhere along the line that he was glad that Darcy wasn't asking him questions; ones he wouldn't have an answer to. Two days passed in a blur of mostly silence and existing, because the death had raised many questions that he couldn't work the answers out to. Was it his fault? Why only Nyali? It had to be planned and specific. But _why_? Loki stared down at his hand, making a painful fist as he stared at the lie. The disguise; a natural guise or a manufactured guise? Was it Odin's doing or had he somehow created it? The illusion of normalcy. An illusion of grandeur. The mortal Darcy, of a race so short-lived and believed to be lesser by many Aesir was by far less monstrous than he; even just leaving out his past actions. Blue was a most-hated colour. Flashes of icy blue eyes shot through his brain. Agents. Barton. Selvig. Himself. Loki held his head in his hands after that, a headache ailing him as Darcy spoke with Emyr and her husband.

"I've never seen him so…quiet? Sober…I'm not sure what the word is," Darcy said.

"He has been privy to a death here before; on a trip, my parents were killed in a skirmish with vicious marauders. The Loki we knew and loved before…had wanted so much to find a way to bring them back. He is very emotional; that is why he hides behind a mask of cheek and mischief, hiding his more vulnerable side, not wanting to get hurt again. It is, however, inevitable," Emyr murmured. Loki was barely aware of what they were saying.

"All I know him as is the monster who destroyed lives on my planet," Darcy said.

"He was not always like that; I know not what happened to that boy I once knew," Emyr said, tutting.

Before he knew it, Loki was standing behind the circle of Dwarves, all of them lining the spiral paths that led all the way up through the home, facing the middle space. A small boat with a glittering lid floated in the middle of the space on level with Emyr's home. Loki and Darcy stood there as the Dwarves held the funeral for the child who would never grow up. Loki's face was solemn and it made him realise how it must have been for his own mother when he had fallen from Asgard. How it must have been for Thor both times he 'died.' Odin…Loki honestly had no idea. This was what all of those Midgardians must have felt when they said their final goodbyes to those he had caused the deaths of around a year ago. The boat was set aflame and it burnt in a spherical shape. Loki honestly had no idea of how long he stood there, but by the time Darcy finally dragged him back into Emyr's, the Dwarves had all gone into their homes. Emyr tucked him into bed and he ended up sleeping for a long time.

Darcy sat in the lounge with Emyr, not really tired right now. Loki was asleep after so long of just…existing. It scared her a little; seeing someone so cold and ruthless be something else. Protective and just…Darcy didn't know what to do, whether to make an attempt to escape or stick with him. Did he need her for something evil? She sure as hell wouldn't help him; she would sooner kill herself. She sat there on the couch, holding her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them (after making sure this wouldn't be rude to Emyr and her husband, of course). Maybe she could just stay here until she finds a way off of this planet and back to her own. She must have sat there in silence for a long time before she finally looked up at Emyr.

"Is…there a way back to Earth from here? Preferably without getting Loki involved…I'm just wondering. I just…don't know what to do," Darcy said, looking tired, but not feeling like she _could_ sleep right now.

"We do have such a possibility; we dwarves are able to move through the realms on the eve of a Full Moon. We must draw travel circles, etched with runes and those of the place we wish to travel to," Emyr said. "You would, however, have to wait a month; the moon has just passed. There are ways to travel outside of the Full Moon, but you would have to be versed deeply in magic. Dwarves must study magic much longer than the Vanir or Elves to travel without the Full Moon. Magic is not our expertise, you see." Darcy nodded, understanding.

"As I said…I'm just thinking aloud, but thanks. I'll weigh it up," Darcy said, putting her face into her knees.

"How did you come to be with Loki, my child?" Emyr asked. Darcy looked up after a moment.

"You know of the convergence, right?" Darcy asked. Emyr nodded. "I slipped through one of those portals with a…friend, and he got back through, but I didn't and then I got stuck on Svartalfheim. Loki appeared, kinda stopped some elves killing me and…well, it was either be stuck there or go with Loki, where I might or might not end up dead," Darcy said. Emyr stood and walked over to her, sitting next to her and putting a hand on her hand.

"Oh, dear. He will not kill you; I do not feel such emotion when he is with you," Emyr said. "There is something in his heart; some determination. I think he needs company."

"I thought you didn't trust him completely," Darcy asked, remembering her words from a few days ago.

"I have had more time to observe him; that boy has more grief in his heart than just Nyali's death. However, I know not what ails him. He is good at hiding," Emyr said. "Now, you must sleep."

"I'm not sure I can," Darcy said.

"We have a remedy for that," Emyr said.

Loki woke up the next morning and took himself into the lounge, seeing no one around before walking over to the other spare room, opening the door to see Darcy still asleep in there. Footsteps sounded behind him before he felt a rolled-up towel hit him in the side and he turned around to see Emyr.

"Get away from that young girl's room, Loki; you should be ashamed of yourself," Emyr said, pulling him away from the door and shutting it before ushering him towards the lounge. He sat down on the sofa.

"Emyr, I was not doing anything untoward. I was merely seeing if she was still asleep," Loki said.

"And what if she was changing, hm? It is disgraceful in her realm, your realm and this realm. No excuses," Emyr said. Loki just huffed and shrugged. Chances were, Emyr believed the mortal was a maiden, although Loki didn't really know himself. Things were vastly different between Nidavilliren dwarves and Midgardian humans; he wondered if Emyr even knew that. Honestly, he would be surprised if Darcy were still a maiden; she had a beauty he had not seen upon Midgard before. And those breasts…they weren't overly visible underneath her coat, but he _had_ felt them. Loki sat back, waiting for the mortal girl to wake up. They really had to get going before he fell any deeper into this now uncharacteristic gloom. Loki had promised himself not to show his emotions so pathetically and had naturally ended up breaking that. Again.

"What troubles you, Loki?" Emyr asked. Loki turned to her and paused for a few moments, before shaking his head, looking away. He didn't want to get into this. Emyr studied him for a few moments before getting up and going to the kitchen. It was only ten minutes later by the time Darcy finally entered the room. Loki looked at her.

"We will be leaving shortly," Loki said. "After breakfast."

"Where to, Saruman?" Darcy asked, dropping down next to him. Loki raised an eyebrow at her.

"I do believe I have dark hair, not white," Loki replied. Darcy looked at him sharply.

"You've read Lord of the Rings?" Darcy asked.

"I have read a great many books," Loki said.

"Okay, anyway, where are we going next?" Darcy asked.

"Muspelheim," Loki said. "I have no leads, but I want to check out each realm," Loki said. "It is easier to sense the Stones if we are in the vicinity of it."

"The Fire Giant realm, right?" Darcy asked.

"Correct," Loki said. "You are quite knowledgeable."

"I've been following the legends for years; it's pretty interesting to see what's accurate and what isn't," Darcy said. Emyr came in with plates of food for the both of them and silence fell between them as they ate. Once finished, Loki cleaned the plates for Emyr the non-magical way out of respect and walked back towards Darcy.

"It is time we leave. Emyr, thank you for your hospitality and I offer you my sincerest apologies to you and your family. May her soul live on," Loki said, hand over his heart in respect.

"May her soul live on. Thank you, Loki," Emyr said. Loki dropped a small green velvet pouch into her hand; the payment for their stay, before leaving the home with Darcy, after she had made her goodbyes too.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note:** Warning for reference to torture. It's not really graphic, more implied. Just thought I'd stick that here just in case.

* * *

 **Chapter six**

 **Strength of heart**

They were in another realm in seconds and Darcy looked around to see where they were this time. Now, when she had thought of a fiery, probably volcanic, lava-y world, she had definitely not imagined _this_. It was beautiful. The sky was a burnt orange, though maybe a little lighter. Honestly, Darcy didn't know all of the many different names for different shades of colours. It seemed as if there was a new one every week. The mountains (or volcanoes) in the distance seemed a dark brick red in shade and most of the ground seemed that way too. Now, she certainly hadn't expected to find foliage and grass…plants and trees and a lake! How on…Muspelheim, she supposed. She was no longer on Earth right now…how was there such things when it was supposed to be a fiery planet? Instead she was looking at a beautiful orange-red landscape that looked as if it was constantly trapped in the sunset time of day. Because that sun was too high up for it to actually be sunset. The thoughts were all racing around her head and she looked at Loki.

"How is there water or grass here?" Darcy asked, amazed. "Wait, I'm not even hot!"

"You think that because it is a hot realm that nothing would grow? Perhaps on Midgard, but here the plants are stronger and are better adapted to such a climate. I suppose you could call it a combination of that and natural magic, the latter being the reasoning for the water," Loki explained. "As for you, I have cloaked you in a spell to keep you from overheating."

"Wow, okay, cool…thanks. That is surprisingly thoughtful of you," Darcy said, unable to stop herself from speaking honestly. She walked with Loki through the land, wondering whether he had any idea of where the Stone would be. Would they be traversing the whole planet? Oh, good lord; if the planet was anything like the size of Earth, this would be a long trip. "Any ideas where the next Stone is? The sooner we get these, the sooner I can go home." _Or die_ , a little voice in her head added. She shuddered at the thought. He seemed like a particularly creative guy…

"There is definitely one here; I can feel it. However, we best have our little boat to take us to the places of interest quicker," Loki said. "I have a feeling it will be in a cave."

"I seriously have no idea how you even know this stuff. Are you reading from a script?" Darcy asked dryly. She could practically _feel_ the eye roll that came as a response.

" _No_. I am a being of magic and quite strongly so; I can simply _feel_ the energies and magicks through every pore of my body," Loki said.

"It sounds awesome; I wish I had magic," Darcy said. "What I could do with that kind of power; it'd be great." The boat appeared and they got into it, Darcy holding on for dear life as usual. Once again, even though it was moving quickly, the scenery didn't move at the same speed. They got closer to the mountains when the sight of rather tall, reddish beings stepped out of the caves ahead. Darcy could feel the boat slowing as they approached the base of the mountain until they were completely stopped. She looked at Loki.

"Are they friendly?" Darcy asked.

"As long as we do not cause trouble," Loki said, no sign of humour in his voice or expression. She was glad; she half-expected him to do just that. He got out of the boat and she followed him as they walked towards the giants. Yes, they must be the Fire Giants. When they were close, Loki nodded his head respectfully to the giants, and Darcy copied him.

"What brings you here, Asgardian?" One of the giants said. He looked at Darcy as well. "And Midgardian. You are both quite far from home, are you not?" The giants seemed to be wearing some form of toga and no shoes. If she thought Thor and Loki were tall, these guys were even taller. Darcy couldn't even give an estimate, but Loki came up to just above their stomachs.

"We have no ill intentions, only that I am in search of an Infinity Stone," Loki answered. Darcy wondered whether it was really a good idea to state what he was after. Especially when she saw the giants all look between them with unreadable expressions before looking back at the trickster.

"You would not be the first to come here with such intent," the giant replied.

"I feel its energy here…is there someone after it now?" Loki asked.

"No. All who have come before have been reduced to insanity and perished," the giant responded. "I would advise you to turn back now. You are not strong enough." Darcy gulped and looked at Loki, who didn't show any signs that he would listen to their warning.

"The Mind Gem…Would you show me where it has been kept?" Loki asked.

"It depends entirely on your intentions," the giant said. "We would not want it falling into the wrong hands."

"I thought you said all have perished and that we're not strong enough…what would it matter if you showed us if you think we would not get it?" Darcy asked. The giants looked at each other again before looking back at Darcy. She gulped. "I meant no disrespect! I'm sorry!"

"Relax yourself, child, we are not angry," the giant said. "No matter what may appear to be, it cannot be set in stone. We are not clairvoyants; we cannot see the future or divine past our own opinions."

"I have no ill intent…I swear an oath upon my magic," Loki said. The giants looked at each other again before looking back.

"Then we will take you. You must, however, leave your mode of transport here. We will not fit inside nor will we be made to walk while you glide," the giant said.

They walked for a while in silence behind the large reddish figures who seemed pretty cool to Darcy; they had fiery eyes, flickering from a light red to orange to yellow with a glowing aspect to them. Honestly, the glowing was a pretty neat addition to the colours. Their hair colours must all be whatever would be in the range of fiery colours as well, for one had burnt orange hair, another with alarming red and a couple of yellow-haired fellows. Darcy looked at Loki for a moment.

"Is there something special about swearing upon your magic?" Darcy asked. "I mean, we have people swearing upon dead parents' graves and they can still break their promise like the assholes they are."

"It holds a binding promise; if I break my oath, I will suffer dearly. We do not take oaths lightly," Loki said. "Especially since my magic is what I treasure the most, as Thor does Mjölnir. The same goes for love, really. If Thor were to declare that he would give up Mjölnir for his beloved, then it is quite serious. I have never heard him utter the phrase, however."

"Have you ever declared that you would give up your magic for someone?" Darcy asked.

"No. I have loved before, but I suppose they have never truly been the one and only," Loki said.

"You never know; lots of stories I've read have some idiot girl deeply in love with a villain, despite their better judgement," Darcy said. "And they love them back, some of the times. So don't give up hope, Dr. Evil."

"Your humour is amusing, but I do not need love," Loki said. "I need no one."

"Then why am I here?" Darcy asked.

"I need you for this mission, but nothing personal," Loki said dryly. Darcy was wondering whether that was really the truth; sure, he may actually need her for _something_ , but maybe he also wanted company. Obviously desperate enough to go for the first person he could find. She didn't say anymore on the issue, though, because frankly it was awkward enough already. While she couldn't deny that some parts of this adventure were fun, she still felt uncomfortable travelling with a mass murderer. She couldn't deny that he wasn't actually awful towards her, which was the really confusing part of it all. He also took all of her jibes without much of a reaction. That was weird.

They walked for hours and hours until she started slowing down, hungry and thirsty.

"Guys…I need a break," Darcy said. They didn't seem to be tired at all; must be the whole immortal thing. Loki came closer to her, too close, before she was in his arms like she was a bride. She squeaked and tried to push him away.

"Come, we will take rest in a cave," Loki said. The giants looked at him.

"We will take our leave; the mountain yonder is the one you seek," the giant said. Darcy saw the massive mountain that rose up higher than the rest. Of course it was. How cliché. Loki nodded.

"Thank you. Also, do take care; I know not the reasons nor whether they would come here, but some blue beings I have not seen before attacked a home on Nidavellir…I would hate for you to be caught unprepared," Loki asked. "Although I imagine you would have a better time of it." The giants' faces seemed to become stormy.

"So it has happened elsewhere…we were attacked about a week ago," the giant said.

"Did you lose anyone?" Loki asked. Their faces showed the answer.

"One of our friends' daughters; the youngest, in fact. Only her, which is odd in an attack. Hemr was quite out of the way of the attack and yet…" The giant said, his fist clenched. Darcy looked glum, stepping closer to the giant and gently putting her hand on his arm.

"I'm sorry to hear that; Nyali from Nidavellir wasn't in the vicinity of the attack either…there must be something going on," Darcy said. The giant looked at her hand with a frown. "Oh…sorry…this is how we, uh, show sympathy on Earth. It's supposed to be comforting." The frown disappeared and turned into a look of appreciation.

"You are not like the Midgardians I have heard stories of," the giant said.

"Some are good, some are not so much; you kinda have to just take us individually and not as a whole," Darcy said. The giant nodded and looked between them both.

"Farewell," the giant said.

"Blessed be her soul," Loki nodded.

"That she return to peace in Vallhalla," the giants responded, turning and leaving them. Darcy watched them for a while before she felt a tug on her arm. Darcy walked with Loki towards the cave.

"So there are different phrases for mourning the dead for each realm?" Darcy asked.

"For every culture, yes," Loki said.

"What is it for Asgard?" Darcy asked.

"I cannot say; you never repeat the words outside of their intended use," Loki said. "It is a bad omen and impolite." Darcy nodded, saying no more. It was a sad and yet curious notion. They walked for a while before they finally reached the cave. Inside was just like any other cave she had seen in the movies (because she wasn't some adventurer nor was she a fictional character), except it was some reddish rock rather than grey. Loki took her in fairly deep before finally sitting down and performing various acts of magic that, honestly, she didn't think she could get tired of. It was _magic_ and it was exciting. She'd always loved Harry Potter and all that. Loki had set up a blanket with food on it, gesturing for her to help herself before tucking in himself. They ate in silence and the food was delicious. After a little while she found herself full and sat back against the wall, staring up. Loki had magicked some glow-y float-y ball things.

Darcy didn't know what to say; they hadn't really stopped like this save for in Nidavellir where they were both preoccupied with the attack and the grief. Now, they were free to talk, but nothing came to her. How do you talk to someone who had done the things he had and yet…had also showed signs of being decent? It was mind-boggling and Darcy didn't have the energy to deal with that. She looked at the floor and wondered whether she would get any sleep tonight; the chances were unlikely. Darcy lay down on the hard ground and was at least glad that it was far too warm to need a duvet. It was still uncomfortable, however. A few moments later she found that it was softer than before, as if she was on a mattress. She looked up at Loki and saw him nod. She murmured a thank you before closing her eyes and attempting to sleep.

Darcy woke up the next morning feeling kind of…tight. It took her a few moments to realise that she was wrapped in someone's arms and, from the green of the sleeves, she realised that Loki must be spooning her. She wasn't even sure how to feel about it, but man, his arms were stronger than they looked and she wondered how this had come about. Her tiredness slowly slipped away and she remembered waking up during the night in a panic. Loki must have cradled her and…yeah, okay, she vaguely remembered the arms wrapping around her. Oddly enough, it felt comfortable and she tried not to think about how creepy that sounded, considering whose arms they were. She carefully turned in his arms and looked up at his face, peaceful in slumber. Sad. He was so unguarded while he slept; vulnerable and boyish. She slowly got out of his arms and sat herself opposite him, not wanting to disturb him. He was only asleep for another ten minutes before he woke up, quickly, and was sat with more food laid out on the blanket in very little time. She wondered whether he felt embarrassed about cuddling her and just wanted to pretend it didn't happen. In all honesty, it was for the best. After eating some breakfast, they were back on their way to the cave of mystery.

They walked rather than summoned the boat; maybe there was a reason, or maybe Loki just forgot. Darcy didn't really see him as the forgetful type, but she could also see no reason behind it.

"I don't suppose you can give me a piggy back?" Darcy asked. Loki looked back at her with a raised eyebrow. "You know, a ride on your back."

"We are not far," Loki replied. Darcy was relieved, though it was short-lived as she started to get nervous about what the giants had said about the cave; all had died before after going insane. She shuddered at the very thought of it and tried not to make a sound. Soon enough they were walking up the mountain paths towards the cave and she honestly just wanted to stop, turn around and run away. She carried on, however. Darcy wasn't a coward. She had faced two dangerous scenarios and sure, this one she could avoid, but…something told her to plod on. Loki stopped outside the cave and looked at her.

"Are you willing to enter with me?" Loki asked. She had a choice? That was a surprise. Darcy bit her lip with a frown; he sounded uncertain and his expression told her more than words could, which was a surprise. He _needed_ her. There was no doubt about it and even though it wasn't a good idea, not really, she nodded. Loki actually _smiled_ at her, though it was a little sad. They walked together into the cave and it was definitely different to the other cave; rather than red stone, it was black. Loki didn't even need to light it up; it was already sort of lit. It was kind of creepy, almost like the black image with veins she sees every time she has an eye test. Everything seemed to flash and yet, not in the typical sense. It was like she couldn't turn her head without a very sudden change in view. Darcy honestly couldn't describe it even if her mind was open for others to grasp. Something suddenly changed and black clouds seemed to form, followed by words. Blue flashes and crackling as the words snapped across the walls, and Darcy could barely recognise whether they were visual or audio.

 _Laufey's son._

 _Why? You were knee-deep in Jotunn blood, why would you take me?_

 _You were an innocent child―_

 _No, you took me for a purpose, what was it?_

Darcy looked around frantically as images of Loki―shorter hair and more boyish looking, yet she didn't think this was when he was much younger―flashed across the darkness. Odin was there and a flash of a small, blue baby skittered and echoed.

 _So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me?_

 _Why do you twist my words?_

Loki was walking along, looking shaken, but determined to carry on.

 _You are my son, I wanted only to protect you from the truth._

 _What? That I-I-I-I am the monster that parents tell their children about at night?_

 _You know, it all makes sense now, why you favoured Thor all these years, because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!_

Darcy felt shivers creep around her spine; the words of what must be Loki's memories cutting right through her. Was this real or was this the effect of the cave? They walked on deeper, though she didn't know for how long they had been walking nor how far inside they were; it was difficult to tell. She tried to reach for Loki's hand, who looked pale right now, but as soon as she touched it, he pulled away.

"Just carry on," Loki breathed. The atmosphere seemed to crackle with more memories, the warriors and Sif's disapproval of his Kingship, their betrayal, his fight with Thor and falling. This was where the colours started to twist almost painfully and she felt Loki take hold of her, a hand over her eyes. "You should not see this."

"Too psychedelic?" Darcy joked half-heartedly. No reply. Honestly, she didn't expect one. The room seemed to scream and she wasn't sure whether it was one of them or a memory.

 _How far you have fallen, Prince of Asgard. Perhaps you would like to seek revenge on those who have wronged you._

 _How?_

 _I seek the Tesseract and it is upon Midgard. Your brother likes that realm, no? Hurt the realm he loves, bring me the Tesseract and you could have anything you want…_

Darcy shoved her fingers into her ears as inhuman sounds echoed through the caves that she didn't want to identify. The hand was removed from her eyes and she caught glimpses of Loki on the floor, shuddering. Which was exactly how she found the real Loki, drenched in sweat and, despite what he had done, this was too much to bear. Darcy dropped down and picked up his head, holding it in her lap. He flinched and cried out. She tried to shush him, speak comforting words and stroke his face.

"Loki…Loki, it isn't…it's not real anymore. You're here, safe. You need to get through this…you need to get up and get that Gem…it's just playing games with you, trying to break you…don't let it," Darcy said frantically, trying to get him to get up. However, it was easier said than done and he wasn't budging. "Loki…come on." His eyes opened and it was an awful sight. They looked so stricken; she didn't know what to do.

"Y-y-you…you need to go on," Loki stammered, his body shaken. She hadn't seen much from after his fall, though heard words that chilled her to the bone. These Gods might be immortal and strong, but they had limits. Even ones who could provide their own air con; turn up the heat enough, they'll roast. She swallowed the bile that she felt rising in her throat, and bit back the images before blinking at his words.

"What? I can't…how could I possibly do _that_ …I don't know how…" Darcy said.

"You can…please try," Loki whispered, shuddering. A tear left his eye. "I need…I need that Stone." The room flickered.

 _The Queen of Asgard is dead. I am sorry for your loss._

Darcy blinked; his mother was dead. She winced as she watched him grieve; his magic destroying the cell and soon followed by him physically lashing out. No care or consideration for his own well-being, ripping at his clothes before ending up in a mess on the floor, screaming and shaking.

 _HE IS NOT MY FATHER!_

 _Then am I not your mother?_

…

 _You are not._

Darcy saw the tears fall freely down his face, utter anguish like she had never really seen before. He shuddered with his tears and curled up, his head still in her lap as she tried to figure out what to do. Whatever this was about, whatever he needed these stones for…he had already told her and sworn an oath that it was not for anything bad. Darcy sighed and gently placed his head on the ground before standing up.

"Alright, I just hope there are no monsters; not sure this taser's good enough," Darcy joked.

"The monster has already been defeated," Loki rasped. She couldn't help but look at him sadly. She knelt down briefly and found herself kissing his cheek.

"You are not a monster," Darcy said, the words out of her mouth without even thinking them. It was an odd situation and she stood back up, facing the way they were walking before going on alone. The clouds seemed to be back, crackling as she heard familiar noises. Running through the streets, men's voices, her own screams as she saw herself pinned to the wall by a couple of men. Something seemed to hit them before they could traumatise her. She had still not figured out how, but the memory didn't rattle her; she had long gotten over it and had bought a taser, which had worked out on a few occasions…one of them an overreaction, but Gods of Thunder were made of tougher stuff. Darcy walked for a while before something different appeared. She didn't have a lot of bad memories, so whatever was pulling them out was clutching at straws. The Destroyer, watching New York's attack via the media and the convergence were scary, sure, but nothing gut-wrenching like Loki's. It confused her immensely. She was taken out of her thoughts by a ghostly figure, who appeared a little in front of her.

"Uh…hello…" Darcy said.

"You have come very far, Darcy Lewis of Midgard. Further than the trickster himself," the figure said.

"Who are you?" Darcy asked. "Uhh, I didn't mean to be impolite."

"It is quite alright. My name is Verdandi and I am here to guide you," she said. Verdandi was beautiful and serene looking.

"Verdandi…one of the Norns?" Darcy asked.

"Yes, though I would not rely completely on the legends; much of the nine realms are far different than your stories would have you believe," Verdandi said.

"Wow…okay…so why would you help me? When so many have apparently perished before…" Darcy said. "Not that I'm ungrateful, of course."

"You are the only one to have ever come this far, and I believe you worthy of it, Darcy Lewis, though I can only help you so much," Verdandi said. "This is a test of wits and knowledge. The first test is of Midgard."

"What if I fail? I mean…will I die?" Darcy asked, a little worried. Verdandi smiled and shook her head.

"You are past that; you can try again and again as much as you wish," Verdandi said and Darcy relaxed. "Simply because you have good intentions."

Darcy nodded and looked forward, wondering what it would be. Chess? Oh God. A rubix cube? One of those sphinx riddles? God, she didn't even know. In front of her a large square appeared, with little squares inside and…symbols or runes. Oh shit, it was that stupid 2048 puzzle that everyone had been raving about…well, more like wanting to stab their eyes out over. She'd never played it, but today was apparently the day.

"This…doesn't seem very ancient powers," Darcy said.

"Worth is not dictated by age; even the oldest of Gods are not the wisest of beings," Verdandi said. Darcy nodded and stared at the board. So, she gave it her best shot. She knew how it was played and the objectives, just without having actually _played_ it before now. It took a while, but alas, her first try wasn't meant to be. She'd gotten pretty far, though. Darcy had no idea how many tries it would take for her to hit it. So she tried again and got a bit further. She couldn't remember how many levels there were, but she tried it for a third time and…whoa. It lit up and it looked like it smashed like glass, except without any physical residue. She blinked and looked around, seeing Verdandi smile.

"How many are there?" Darcy asked.

"Just three; one for your own realm and two for your companion's realms," Verdandi said. Darcy breathed a sigh of relief; three wasn't quite as bad as what she had been anticipating. She just hoped the next two weren't enough to make eight other tests look more inviting. Darcy straightened up and nodded her head at Verdandi.

"So, same spiel as the last? As many goes as I want?" Darcy asked, which earned her a nod. Thank God.

The next test was infinitely more challenging and she could see the pattern already; the previous test was more of a game of logic and observation, whereas this one was a game of intelligence and strategy. Not that she wasn't intelligent, but man, this was utterly crazy. It was like battle strategies and how to locate defences, armies, everything to do with all of that and more. Well, okay, there was some logic in this, but then, didn't everything overlap? Of course, this was a completely different ballgame and she wished she had Loki here. Surely he would find this easier? Ah, but maybe he would get a different puzzle. Darcy bit her lip, looking at the stratagem and trying to work it out. Wait. _Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow._ Of course, she didn't know _how_ that got there and why she was quoting Doctor Who (not even that; it had roots from before the show, Doctor Who merely popularised it), but she started looking at the maps and grids from the reverse point of view. _How would the enemy see it? What would they do?_ She scoffed and looked back into the darkness; it would be easy if the former villain himself were here.

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. Darcy looked back at the display and experimented. Oh! It worked like Stark's holographic technology; it was more widespread than just him, of course, but she always associated it with Stark just because he was a technological genius. She wondered if Apple were going to go out of business. It would be sad. Very sad for her iPod love. She started moving things around and using the keyboard to type things in. Rub it out and fix any mistakes she had made. It was somewhat fun and more than a little irritating at times to the point where she must have blanked like one whole section because Darcy couldn't for the life of her remember working on the midsection. When she had finished, it dissolved and she was free to carry on walking. She leant against the wall for a moment as she realised she was only one away from getting through to the Mind Gem. The next one would be truly difficult; she had a vague suspicion this next one would be the most difficult one yet. Typical. She breathed in and out deeply before pushing away from the wall and carrying on deeper into the cave. Darcy wasn't sure how long she was walking before hearing a noise. She walked further forward before she saw what was making the noise; a baby, bigger than a newborn and yet something about him or her made newborn the only word spring to her mind. The baby was crying and on closer inspection, appeared to be blue with markings.

She stepped closer and there was suddenly a voice that was followed by the appearance of another ethereal female.

"My name is Skuld; you have already met one of my sisters," she said. Her features and voice were not as soft as Verdandi's; Skuld seemed strict and harsh, a little older-looking than her sister.

"Nice to meet you…" Darcy said. "Um…"

"That is Loki, as a child. Frightening little thing, is he not?" Skuld asked, practically cackling. Darcy blinked at the baby and looked back at Skuld. "Here you have an opportunity to end suffering before it ever happened." Skuld took out a sharp, curved blade and offered it to her. "You could kill him before he got the chance to kill your people." Darcy's eyes widened.

"Where's Verdandi? She said she would guide me…" Darcy said.

"Change of plan; take the knife and kill him," Skuld said. "Kill him and you will have the Mind Gem." Darcy ignored the knife and rushed forward, picking up the baby. Baby Loki. It was strange seeing him so innocent and yet, she knew what he went on to do. Darcy would _never_ kill anyone, especially a baby. It didn't matter what they would become. She found he was very cold, but then maybe that was normal. She held Loki close to herself and backed up from Skuld.

"I would rather not get the Mind Gem than kill a baby; no way! No freakin' way; what kind of sick and twisted person would do that?" Darcy asked, holding Loki closer and looking down at him, rocking him and realising he had stopped crying. She looked back up at Skuld to see that she was grinning. Suddenly the baby was not a baby anymore, but a small, floating purple gem with a spiral pattern in the middle. She cupped her hands and it dropped into them. She looked up.

"Darcy Lewis of Midgard, you have passed all three tests. The Mind Gem is yours to keep. If you choose to give it over to your companion, you may. You have shown that your mind is exceptional and thus you know what you are doing," Skuld said. "Goodbye, Darcy Lewis, and good luck. There are tougher times ahead for you."

With that, Skuld vanished.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note:** Thanks for all the reviews and favourites, I love them. 3 Sorry for the delay, I've been a bit busy and absent-minded. Hopefully you'll enjoy the three chapters I upload to make up for it. xD

Just a warning, chapter 8 isn't a false upload, all will be explained by the end/chapter 9.

* * *

 **Chapter seven**

 **Awe and wonder**

Loki lay on the ground staring into the distance for what felt like days, though he couldn't be sure how long it was exactly regardless. The memories were still flicking across the wall and he was no longer reacting to them, appearing more like an empty shell right now. He couldn't move; after Darcy left, memories of his time invading Midgard crackled across the cave like something out of a horror story. He heard the screaming; it was something he hadn't been aware of when he was actually down there, but then, he had been barely aware of anything he was doing. He noticed the memories stop, which was strange, but he still couldn't move. It was then that a ghostly figure appeared in the shape of a ethereal woman, both beautiful and yet one of the most terrifying women in existence. Urd, of the Norns.

"You have fallen so far, Loki. I remember a time when you could have easily walked this cave and brought forth the Mind Gem," Urd said. Of the three Norns, she appeared to be the middle one, even though all three were born only minutes apart. She the last. "Instead you send in a mortal who has no knowledge of what lies ahead of her; do you think she will succeed?"

"Yes," Loki answered quietly.

"You speak so soon, but you have only known her four days," Urd said. "What makes you so certain?" Loki shrugged. Honestly? He didn't know. He just lay there staring into the darkness, defenceless should anyone wish to hurt him.

"I know not," he whispered.

"You know quite well that you can change your own destiny, but you can also change the destiny of others," Urd said. Loki stared blankly, waiting for her to carry on her speech. "The convergence is a powerful thing; for a long time we could not place anyone's fates exactly beyond to this point. It flickered between you being dead and you being upon the Asgardian throne as your disowned father. Now it seems you travel a different path. If I were you, I would continue down this path. You have already made an oath upon your magic; it will be ever so unpleasant, should you decide to go against it."

"I have no intentions of doing so," Loki answered.

"Then I have no further reason to be here; you are alright, Loki. An unlikely force has brought you and Darcy Lewis together. Look after her and she will look after you, because Loki, no matter your difference in strength, you _need_ her. What she lacks in physical strength, she makes up for in emotional and mental vitality. Already she is saving your life. Do not part ways with her, but do not force her hand. Good day, Loki," Urd said, before disappearing. As confusing as always. How could he stay with her and yet, not force her to be with him? How puzzling.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and the quick appearance of Darcy, holding a glowing purple gem in her hand. She had done it. She had found the Gem. Relief rocked through him and he sighed. Darcy dropped down next to him.

"So after meeting two of these Norn people and going through three tests, you're welcome, by the way, I got the Gem. Honestly didn't think I could do it," Darcy said. Loki smiled a genuine smile at her; she had really done it for him. "Come on, get your ass off of that floor and let's get going." But he couldn't. He needed time. She seemed to realise this as she sat down properly, pocketed the gem and pulled his head into her lap again. He had fallen so far from grace and yet here was this mortal, _comforting_ him, as if he hadn't done all of those things to her realm.

"Huh, this cave is all normal and red now. Weird," Darcy said.

"It no longer needs to defend the Mind Gem," Loki said.

"Aha! He speaks!" Darcy said, which would have had him rolling his eyes if he could be bothered. Silence fell between them for a few moments and Loki felt like he was going to fall asleep any minute. "So you had a pretty tough time, huh? Is that why you did what you did?"

"Something like that," Loki murmured unhelpfully. "I would rather not talk about it."

"You have just had a bit of a rollercoaster ride of those memories, so sure. In the future, maybe," Darcy said.

"Your memory…did it not affect you? You were…" Loki said.

"They didn't get far enough to steal my virtue, but it was a bad experience…however, I'm well over it and I guess I'm just not easily thrown. Plus, I have my trusty taser," Darcy said. He hadn't met a person with a taser outside of the mortal police force before; he knew that there would be people who did, of course, depending upon the legality of their usage, but never one in person.

"So that is why you carry one. It is a little tragic," Loki said. "Are you still virtuous?"

"Oh, wow, okay I see you're still a psycho perv; what next, you going to pin me down and have your wicked way with me?" Darcy asked sarcastically. Loki laughed a little.

"I prefer willing bed partners, thank you very much," Loki said.

"You were sooo going to add some sassy remark, weren't you? Go on, say it," Darcy said.

"I would prefer to have you screaming my name in awe than in fear," Loki smirked. She hit him a few times in the chest, though clearly with no intention to hurt him.

"Ass," Darcy said.

"You did ask for me to tell you," Loki said. Darcy scoffed, but he knew it was playful and they both ended up chuckling together. Darcy pulled out the Mind Gem again and he could see an idea in her eyes as she placed her hand on his forehead.

"I don't actually know how to use this, but I'll see if it can help your brain," Darcy said. Normally, Loki would have been worried, particularly because he wasn't fond of people messing around with his mind, but he found he neither had the energy to stop her nor the real _want_ to do so. Did he trust her? That was a big question that he didn't have an answer to yet. All he knew was that he felt his mind becoming more at ease as she used the Gem and he smiled a little. When she finished, she put it away and stroked his hair. It was rather odd how affectionate she was, but he was grateful for it.

* * *

Loki must have fallen asleep because he was blinking awake. He looked around and realised he was using Darcy's stomach for a cushion; at least it wasn't anywhere else, or he would likely be hit by her weapon again. He'd prefer to steer clear of that while he was so vulnerable. She was, however, without a cushion and yet she seemed to be sleeping. Loki sat up quietly and swivelled his wrist around a few times, wrapping her almost completely in a comfortable, padded wrap. As far as he could tell, it was very early the next day. He leant against the cave wall and closed his eyes again. Hours passed but he didn't fall asleep again this time. When Darcy awoke, she was quite surprised by her wrap.

"I thought you could do with a little more comfort, after you assisted me so," Loki answered without her having to inquire.

"Thanks," Darcy said. She looked at him, but said nothing.

"I think it would be best to find a village here and go there to fully recuperate," Loki said. He stood up and helped her up, taking her out of the cave and leading her back to the boat, which they used to travel to the nearest village. Once there, Loki led her into the village and requested refuge for a little while, which was allowed. As it happened, they had empty stone huts for the times when they had guests. Loki settled them into the hut which had twin beds in a separate room, a separate bathroom and the rest of the space altogether, which was bigger than she had anticipated.

"Lucky that we've been mostly shacking together anyway," Darcy said. "And this is literally shacking up." She sniggered. Loki sat down and watched as she eventually joined him. She took the Mind Gem out of her pocket and handed it to him.

"Thank you, truly. I had not…anticipated that I would be beaten so easily. My mind is not what it used to be," Loki said.

"Maybe, but perhaps it would have fallen anyway; this thing is like the Gods of power, right? You said Infinity Stones, so I'm assuming these things are hella powerful," Darcy said. "So who knows whether it still would have worked or not."

"Yes, I suppose you are right," Loki said, summoning the gauntlet and inserting the Mind Gem.

"So the Aether is on the thumb knuckle, the Tesseract over the index knuckle and this Mind Gem is over the pinky knuckle…any particular reason?" Darcy asked.

"I am not quite sure; rumour has it that where you would place them tells a lot about one's character, but honestly, each Gem is said to be incredibly powerful and dangerous on their own," Loki said. "So I am unsure how it would really matter."

"I'm guessing we have no idea where the next one is?" Darcy asked.

"Not a clue; so far they are technically on different realms, so perhaps we shall visit Vanaheim next. For now, I need to rest and would not mind finding out more about this unfortunate circumstance with the dead Muspel girl," Loki said. He saw that she was staring at him a little. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I still can't work you out," Darcy said. Loki smirked.

"Good," Loki said. "I would prefer to remain unsolved."

"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to let someone in," Darcy said. "Maybe it would help; whatever I saw in that cave―"

"You will forget what you saw in that cave; I appreciate what you did for me, but that does not mean you can delve into my memories and life any further," Loki said.

"Oh, okay. So it's okay for you to kidnap me, but not okay for me to find out more or get an answer to why I'm helping you?" Darcy asked. "You're a dick, you know that? I need to be on my own right now." Darcy stood up and went into the bedroom, slamming the door and presumably propping something against the door.

* * *

Darcy was relentless in her anger towards him; she only came out of the room for food and even then, she took it to her room, and to explore the village. Her room. They had been here a week and he had been stuck out there, not allowed to turn the sofa into a bed because it was disrespectful to do such a thing in Muspelheim. Magic was present somewhat on the realm, but not particularly in the people themselves, aside from their fiery powers, much like the Jotunn had their ice powers. It was considered impolite to change what had been so graciously given to them. So he slept on the sofa, thankful that the giants were, well, _giant_. Thus it was bigger than normal sofas. The Muspel were about the same sort of size as the Jotunn. Loki had always had trouble with friends; Sif and the Warriors were Thor's friends, though he had gotten on very well with Fandral and Volstagg in the past. However, that was no longer an issue. They were no longer friendly with him. No doubt they knew of his Jotunn heritage by now; who would keep _that_ secret? Other than them, he had a sprinkling of friends across the realms, or rather, across Vanaheim, Nidavellir and Alfheim. The Muspel, while not quite as secretive as the Dwarves, were ones he had never really had much interaction with. They kept to themselves and had even less contact with Asgard than Nidavellirean Dwarves.

Another week passed and Darcy had been making more friends. The Muspel seemed to enjoy her presence, much more than they did his. It wasn't really a surprise; few people ever preferred him over others. It was the story of his life and he had long ago learnt to just deal with it. On the last day of the second week, Loki'd had enough and when Darcy returned to the hut, he had locked the door with magic, forcing her to turn to him.

"Open the door!" Darcy said.

"We need to talk, so sit down," Loki said, gesturing to the sofa he slept on. He was sat in the armchair.

"No," Darcy said, making to return to the village. Loki used his magic to force her onto the sofa; he wasn't usually one to do something like this, but they needed to talk. He forced her to stay there, though he could see her struggling. "Get off! You're violating my privacy!"

"Darcy, I apologise. For it all. I know I took you with me against your will, but you were right when you said I needed you. I do, and I promise you that I will not be killing you at the end," Loki said. "I swear upon my magic that I will not kill you nor will I let you die; I will protect you to the best of my ability." Darcy's eyes widened and he held out his arm.

"For real? I mean, you said such an oath…" Darcy said.

"Oaths are not sworn lightly; Thor swore to cast aside selfish ambition and preserve the peace in the realms, but he marched into Jotunheim and nearly caused a war. It was albeit with some of my help, my bitterness at play there, but he nevertheless chose to act on his impulses. He was banished for it," Loki said. "You have every reason not to believe me, but I have no reason to lie to you, especially after you have so graciously assisted me." He watched her clearly think about his words for a few moments before sighing.

"Alright. But I want to stay here a little longer," Darcy said. "I would have liked to stay at Nidavellir longer, but I can live with that."

"You enjoy it here?" Loki asked.

"Yeah, it's really interesting seeing a completely different planet and their lifestyle, the culture…I'd have no way of seeing them again, so I'd like to spend a bit more time with the friends I've made," Darcy said.

"Then we can stay; I have no leads yet anyway, and I could do with some rest time," Loki said.

"Thanks!" Darcy said, jumping up and looking to the kitchen. "I'll try and make us some food. It'll just be like cooking in the middle ages or something. Can't say I know a whole lot about them, which makes me want to do so now." He watched her attempt to cook. She was doing very well until she set her hair on fire. He used magic to get rid of it and appeared beside her, assisting her from then on. It was an enjoyable meal and they went to bed in better spirits that night. Loki remained on the sofa to give Darcy her privacy.

* * *

Loki and Darcy spent another two weeks there in the end, which gave Loki ample resting time and Darcy socialising time. It was quite funny, really; if Darcy Lewis were to use her education, she could think about being an Ambassador for her realm. She was certainly well-liked with the Muspel of this village and they really wanted her to meet the members of the Muspel higher council and royalty. She had certainly made an impression and it was rather interesting. Sadly, he had to pull her away from Muspelheim and take her to Vanaheim, which was automatically a strange jump from the orange-reds to blues and greens. Vanaheim was quite a realm of variety, with its villages, its towns and what Darcy might call 'futuristic' cities. He was no way near Hogun's village; he did not need word getting back to the grim warrior that he was, in fact, alive. At least for now. He led her through one of the floating cities, not the capital, but one of the most famous for scholars and education.

"This city is floating!" Darcy squealed. "I love it! Man why couldn't I have been born here? No offense mom and dad." Loki found himself laughing, thrilled that she liked it so much. It was one of his favourite places. Especially the library; he could literally just live there. He didn't realise Darcy had been staring at him with a small smile on her face until she spoke and he turned to look at her.

"You love this place, don't you? You have this contented little smile on your face," Darcy said. Loki instantly hid his expression and rolled his eyes at her.

"I suppose I enjoy being here," Loki said.

"You know, you can show your emotions now and then; I won't judge you," Darcy said, shaking her head. "I do like the look of this place, though. Beautiful."

"Do you mind if I take you into the library? I assure you that you will not be bored if you like books," Loki said.

"Yes! Though will I be able to understand anything?" Darcy asked.

"Yes, there is quite a bit in our tongue," Loki said. He led her to the large building that took up a lot of space. He could see the wonder in Darcy's eyes as she tried to, presumably, work out how this whole city could float. The building had a huge set of ornate double doors which led into a grand hallway. There was a large staircase that led into the main library. He led her through there and he saw her expression become even more fascinated. He took her over to a circle with runes inside it.

"This is a very useful device; if you have a specific book or a specific topic you are looking for, it will transport you there. If there are numerous sections for the latter option, you will be given the option of each of them," Loki said.

"Ooooh," Darcy cooed.

"Perhaps you would like to explore while I do some research?" Loki asked.

"Yes!" Darcy said, stepping onto the circle and disappearing. Well, she was enthusiastic. Loki looked around and sighed, wondering if there would be anything in here. He stepped onto the circle.

 _The Reality Gem. One of the Infinity Stones. Preferably in reference to a location._

Away he went.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter eight**

 **Love and life**

It was a beautiful summer's day in the great city of Fenir, one of the great floating cities of Vanaheim, home to the realm's most celebrated scholars and, most importantly, the magnificent library, said to be home to all of the books in the universe. Of course, there were so many that anyone who attempted to check either got tired, distracted or just bored. But Darcy was determined to figure it out. Or at least, she was a month ago. So many books from Earth were there, but even if she _did_ find them all, she didn't know all of the books from the other realms anyway. No matter. She had already learnt a great deal in the sixth months she had been here from being a librarian. So of course she had to know a great deal; luckily for now she was the librarian dedicated to the Midgardian sections of the library. That had been the leading reason for her recruitment here; she was of Midgard (Earth! Gosh it took a bit of getting used to, this _Midgard_ business) and knew a lot of the books from her time being a geek. And librarians were celebrated here; oh my _God_ they were so much more revered. When she discussed Midgardian books with people, they listened and inputted enthusiastically, then at the end praised her and admired her knowledge of these books, the ones that were most unknown to their populace. It made Darcy all warm and fuzzy inside.

Darcy was cleaning the counter after she accidentally spilled her honey juice on it; _honey juice_. The drinks and food in this place was just…there were no words. When she had just finished, she saw Loki come in and spot her, smiling warmly and it made her smile too; his smiles always did. She came from behind the counter and rushed into his arms, giving him an almighty hug as he did her and if she'd had any worries in that day, they would have been washed away right now in his arms. He leant back and reached down to kiss her, tenderly in a way that always made her toes curl. When they pulled back and smiled at each other, Loki stroked her face with his fingers.

"And how are you, my love?" Loki asked.

"Even better now I've seen you; feeling a bit peaky today, but otherwise, it's been a good day," Darcy said.

"How about we take you to a healer? Just to make sure," Loki said. "You are an Aesir now; we rarely fall ill."

"All right," Darcy gave a dramatic sigh. She walked hand-in-hand with Loki, basking in the beauty of the city around her. No skyscrapers, no cars, no vulgarity. Darcy loved it here; of course, she missed home from time to time, but Loki took her home every so often to visit her family and friends. It didn't take long to get to the Healing Sanctuary and they were seen straight away, where she was placed upon the strange table and the golden imprint of her body rose up. She was still getting used to all of this; it was strange and so much more effective than Midgardian technology. Gah! She was being converted. There seemed to be something in the lower part of her golden-imprint body, but she couldn't quite work it out.

"Oh, this is wonderful news, Your Highness. You are ill because you are with child," the healer said, her voice brimming with joy. Darcy sat up very quickly and stared at her with shock, ignoring the fact that she had just ruined the imprint.

"I'm pregnant?!" Darcy gasped. The healer nodded to her with a smile. Darcy looked at Loki, who looked equally shocked, before looking at her with a joyful expression. He pulled her up into his arms and held her. "We're going to have a child! Oh my God, Loki!"

"I am the luckiest man alive," Loki said with a smile, before lifting her underneath her knees. "How far along is she?" Loki asked.

"About three months," the healer replied.

"Thank you, Auðr," Loki said. Auðr nodded before Loki did his teleporting trick and they were home. Darcy reached up and kissed him. "I think we should visit Asgard; there are a few people who would like to know."

"Your mother is going to fuss so much!" Darcy said, sighing dramatically.

"Indeed; she will be happy to know that she is finally getting a grandchild," Loki smirked. "I have packed our bags; we will make it a week's stay. We will notify the library and the school on our way." It involved taking a trip to the capital as well, since Loki taught magic at the school. The most prestigious magic academy in the nine realms, of course. Darcy told him he was a snob regularly. Which was probably how junior came to be. She giggled at the memory; he had been talking about his work and being slightly arrogant, so she called him a snob and she ended up being chased around the house until she was caught and dragged to bed. Of course, she never truly needed to be dragged into their bed; it was just a play. After they had settled their business, Loki looked up into the sky and called on Heimdall. The Rainbow Rollercoaster was as exciting as always and Heimdall as stoic as ever. Oh! There was a smile! He was smiling!

"Welcome back, Prince Loki and Princess Darcy. Your mother and father will be happy to see you both," Heimdall said. Loki grinned and took Darcy in his arms again, as if she couldn't walk.

"You know, I have legs and I'm not big yet!" Darcy said. Though that made her put her hands on her stomach; soon she would not see her own feet! She snuggled against Loki's chest as he walked along the Bifrost. She must have dozed off because Loki was nudging her and she blinked awake, taking in her surroundings. They were in the middle of a gathering and Loki led her towards his parents, where they greeted each other as usual. Frigga enveloped Darcy in her arms before pulling back, hands on her shoulders.

"My dear…are you with child?!" Frigga asked. Darcy smiled.

"I am," Darcy said, before she was enveloped in another hug.

"Congratulations my son, Darcy. This is wonderful news," Odin said, father and son wrapped in a hug. Odin stepped back and hit Gungnir to the ground. "Let it be known: Asgard will see witness to a son or daughter of our son Loki and his wife Darcy and we will hold a banquet on the morrow!"

"Have you eaten your evening meal?" Frigga asked.

"Not yet; it was late afternoon in Vanaheim," Darcy said. Frigga smiled.

"Then you will dine while we talk; I simply cannot wait!" Frigga said, excitedly. She heard Thor before she saw him.

"Brother! This is great news! And less pressure on my shoulders," Thor teased. Loki grinned at him.

"Just wait until you become King, Thor. All eyes will be on you and Jane," Loki said.

"That will not be for a while, Loki; father wishes to see me settled with Jane for much longer," Thor said. Darcy was then pulled into another hug with her friend Jane.

"Darcy, I'm so happy for you! When did you find out?" Jane asked.

"Just today; I was feeling a little peaky and Mr. Worrywart over here insisted on taking me to the healer," Darcy said. "Married a year and already pregnant! God!" She was playful in her tone, though.

"It's not too surprising; you're being somewhat traditional. I thought you guys were careful?" Jane asked.

"We were, but it must have been a freaky I don't know…" Darcy said.

"It may have been during the convergence; magic can get a little strange during certain events," Loki said.

"Oooh, so it may not have been the night I called you a snob?" Darcy asked.

"No, dear…if I had no spell upon me, though, you would be pregnant by that night," Loki said wickedly, causing Jane to blush.

"Oh, come on, Jane; you can't still be so easily embarrassed. There's no way you two haven't done it!" Darcy said.

"It's…of course we have, but we're not quite as bold about talking about it," Jane said.

"You might not be; I guarantee Thor is not," Loki grinned. Jane looked at Thor who was pretending to not have heard him. "At any rate, we are here for the week."

"Good gracious, I will not be able to sleep now!" Thor teased.

"Now why would I be so obvious?" Loki grinned. Thor clapped him on the back before bringing him in for an embrace.

"I have missed your wit; we need to visit each other more oft," Thor said.

"It should be a lot easier now that we are more settled into our new lives," Loki smiled. "This is much better than our last meet; defeating Malekith was at least worth the feast that came after. I assume the Aether is safe?"

"Father decided it best to be given to Hel, along with the Tesseract. That much power is too risky anywhere else; anyone could steal it," Thor said.

"The Destroyer would surely defeat any who would try; not that anyone has. Quite boring, really," Loki said, earning a whack on the arm by Thor.

"And you said I was the one always after a battle," Thor teased.

"I can never resist a little drama," Loki said. "It is Darcy's fault."

"Hey!" Darcy said, narrowing her eyes at him. "I still have my taser you know!"

"Oh, I know; I know very well, since you threaten me with it on a monthly basis. I can still feel the tickle from when we first met," Loki said.

"Yeah, well, you deserved it for appearing in my bedroom while I was changing!" Darcy said.

"In fairness, I was drunk and looking for Thor. He had been with our friends and I as we made merry in the tavern, only to end up on Midgard, kissing Jane. I did not realise my brother had a sneaky bone in his body until then. Still, it led to me meeting the fairest lady in all of the nine realms," Loki said.

"I've heard that line before; nice try," Darcy said.

"Damn," Loki joked before they smiled at each other.

* * *

Six months passed and Darcy felt like an elephant. She could no longer travel, so they were staying in Asgard for the birth. It made a lot of sense; Asgard would want to see the new addition to the royal family, so staying in Vanaheim would have been a little difficult, since she didn't know when they could travel. Loki always preferred to travel by Bifrost if he could help it. Sure, he had found many hidden pathways in his many years (old fart), but he was more sensible now. The God of Magic and Mischief was a tamed man. She hadn't said that to him out loud, though. In fairness, Thor was far more tame as well, so he at least wouldn't be alone in the description. It didn't stop all of the mischief, of course. She reckoned he would have pranked her with water down there if he didn't think it would stress her and the baby out. The pranks were likely being saved for after the birth. Darcy would be ready. Today, she sat on a sofa in his old quarters. She missed it here; it was beautiful in Asgard and in Vanaheim, so she was really stuck for which she preferred. Of course she missed Earth, but they visited enough that it didn't worry her too much. Besides, her parents were up here and she'd even witnessed the renewal of their wedding vows, Asgardian style, since it was their Silver Wedding Anniversary. What topped off the day was that they were offered an apple each. An apple! Darcy got to keep her family and her best friend forever. Darcy couldn't be happier. Well, once this baby was here she could.

"Lookiiiiii…can you get me some pie?" Darcy asked. "I really want pie. Get me some pie."

"Of course, dear―" Loki started, but they were interrupted by the sound of the alarm bells. She saw Loki become serious and he took out his sword. A magical ball appeared in his hand. "Thor, I am in my quarters with Darcy. Send all those who cannot fight to my chambers." Loki sealed his windows with magic and the walls. He walked to the doors and opened them, seeing the mass hysteria outside. Servants, cooks, all who were not equipped to defend themselves were beckoned inside. Jane and Darcy's parents also rushed inside and to her side, hugging her.

"Make your way into the bedroom," Loki told those who were entering. Their quarters had the large bedroom, a study, bathroom and this lounging area. Suddenly one of the tyrants tried to get in and Loki started to fight him with a mixture of swordplay and magic. Needless to say Darcy's man took him out easily. Loki threw him out of their quarters and continued to scour the halls for anyone else who needed protection. For some reason, it was always wonderful watching Loki fight. She had lost count of the amount of times she had been turned on by watching him defend her or anyone else, which was always a highly inappropriate moment for such a thing since she couldn't exactly do anything about her urges then. More footsteps and Thor appeared.

"Brother, father is badly hurt," Thor said. "Otherwise, the intruders have been dealt with." Loki disappeared instantly and Darcy started out of the door. Thor helped her through the palace and when they got to the room Odin was in, Loki was knelt next to him and using his magic to heal him. Whatever had happened, the healers were only able to do so much and it was down to Loki to save him.

And he did.

Of course he did; it was Loki. Mischief man he may be, uncaring was he not. Darcy waddled over to Loki as he stood up and lifted him up with his magic. She and Thor followed silently as they made their way to Odin's chambers, where they sat by his bedside.

"My son, thank you. Thank both of you; Asgard is safe once again thanks to your efforts, and I continue to live to see another day," Odin said.

"It surprises me that one of those ruffians managed to do this much damage," Loki said. "Although perhaps I only got the stragglers."

"Stragglers or not, you protected those unable to fight; that is as honourable as fighting the main battle," Odin said. Frigga then burst in and joined his side looking anxious.

"Odin, I heard you were injured―" Frigga started, before Odin held up a hand.

"I will be fine; Loki saved my life," Odin said.

"Any son would, father. None of us could bear to lose you," Loki said fondly.

"In other words, if you weren't here anymore, there'd be no one to be a buffer between their mother and them," Darcy joked. "They'd get pestered even more."

"Pregnancy does very strange things to you women," Loki said playfully.

"Especially when they are pregnant with my second son; I only give what I got, Loki," Frigga said with a playful smirk.

"Buuurn," Darcy said. Loki pulled her chair closer so that he could put her into a headlock. "Oi, get off!" But they laughed.

* * *

The birth went smoothly and they had a healthy baby girl called Ebony, because Darcy had always wanted to name her child Ebony and Loki had drawn the short straw. She told him he could name the next child. He did like the name, though, which Darcy was glad for. Their little Princess had her hair and Darcy was amazed by the startling green eyes that peered up at her; it seemed Asgardian babies were different to humans in another way. She had read somewhere that babies' eyes started out blue before becoming the colour they're meant to be, depending on whatever that word was that she had forgotten now. Melanin or something. No matter what eyes her baby had, her baby is adorable and she just wanted to cuddle her forever. Unfortunately it was her father's turn to cuddle her, which she begrudgingly allowed. In the meantime, Darcy just couldn't believe how lucky she was; how happy she was that they'd had a child, even though she was still so young and they hadn't even been married a year before conceiving this little one. It was almost like a dream.

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Darcy cooed.

"What did you expect, having you for a mother?" Loki smiled.

"Please don't, Loki; you'll make me cry. These hormones still haven't gone," Darcy said, blinking.

"I don't think they ever came nor will ever leave," he grinned, rocking his daughter.

"If you weren't holding Ebony, I'd kick you in the package," Darcy said. "No amount of space alien power will keep you from feeling my wrath." Loki looked at her strangely, but with amusement. "I'm trying to keep the language to a minimum in front of Ebony. So shush." Loki moved and sat down next to her carefully, holding Ebony in his left arm and put his right arm around Darcy, pulling her close.

"Our perfect little family," Loki murmured. "You two are perfect. I love you with all my heart and soul."

"I feel the same about you both," Darcy said, before she leant her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.

A little time later, she woke up and she was still in the same place as before. She looked over at Ebony and she was sleeping peacefully in her father's arms. Oh, she was perfect. Absolutely perfect. She loved her so much. It felt like a dream. Except this was real. It was real…Darcy was taken out of her thoughts by a gentle kiss to her throat, not far from the ear and just below the jaw. It made her melt, as always. She turned around and kissed his lips, though she felt like there was something she had forgotten. Something she needed to do? Not really. To say? Nah. Whatever it was, it was important. She _hated_ it when this happened, though it very rarely happened to her.

"What troubles you?" Loki asked, worried.

"I just…feel like I have forgotten something," Darcy admitted.

"I am sure it will come to you in time," Loki said.

"In time…yeah, I'm sure it will. Sorry, weird moment. It's still kind of strange; you and me with a baby. Well, I mean, you're like a thousand years old, but me…I'm only twenty-four! It just feels like a dream…" Darcy rambled. She blinked. Why did she keep repeating those words? It was very strange. She looked at Loki and bit her lip. "I think I need some fresh air. I'll be back as soon as I clear my head, do you mind?"

"Not at all, go ahead. I will look after our little gem," Loki said, reaching for a kiss before she left the room and wandered through the halls towards an exit feeling a chill. Once she was outside, she escaped into the gardens and just…breathed. What was happening? She felt like this was connected to the strange feeling like she had forgotten something. Something important. Forgetting something and feeling almost like a dream. Forget and dream. _Forget and dream._ You dream and forget. Forget what? What could she have forgotten and what could be a dream? And why did Loki's use of the word _gem_ affect her so?

Wait, wait, _wait._

What is the opposite of dreams?

 _Reality_.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter nine**

 **If only**

Loki was truly happy; he'd had a great life, but this was the best part. He was married to his one true love, she had been able to eat an apple of Idunn and he held in his arms a beautiful baby girl. Little Ebony Lokadottir. Right now, the not-even-a-day-old was sleeping peacefully and he hoped her mother would return soon. It seemed post-labour was giving her some strange emotions and if she were still mortal, he would wonder whether she had that post-natal depression thing that mortals unfortunately had sometimes. Maybe it was still possible, despite Darcy being Aesir now. Loki truly hoped not. Just then, his mother, father, brother and sister-in-law entered the room rather quietly, all gathering around the bed. However, it seemed that his daughter was waking up anyway. His mother sat in a chair next to his side of the bed and Loki gently gave her Ebony. Needless to say Ebony had one very happy grandmother who was already doting on the tiny bundle. Loki looked to his father and brother.

"She is beautiful, Loki," his father said, smiling softly. "I do hope I can hold her too before she becomes an adult." Loki laughed.

"Keep talking and you will not, dear," his mother returned like he knew she would. Thor laughed and crouched on the bed next to Loki, slapping him on the back.

"Congratulations, Loki! Somehow you and Darcy have produced something so adorable," Thor said, which earned him a good shove off of the bed and a thunk onto the floor. Ebony made a little noise as if scared, but her grandmother soothed her.

"Where is Darcy?" His father asked.

"She has gone for some fresh air; I am unsure of what is the matter right now, but it must be the hormones," Loki said. "She seemed a little off."

"Some women become overwhelmed, especially one so young as Darcy; it takes some time to get used to the idea of having birthed a child. Go and see her, my son. We will take good care of Ebony," his mother said. Loki nodded and left the room, going straight for the exit and into the gardens, finally finding Darcy clutching her head and looking wild-eyed.

"Darcy? What is wrong?" Loki asked. She looked at him like she was seeing a ghost.

"Loki…oh God," Darcy said, looking around her a little. "I'm not sure you'll believe me even if I told you."

"Just try me; you are my wife, of course I will believe you," Loki said softly. He saw her grimace a little, though he wasn't sure why.

"This isn't real," Darcy said. "This…all this…you. I don't know whether you're part of the dream or whether you're stuck here too." Loki frowned. What was she talking about?

"Darcy, perhaps you are just tired," Loki said.

"What happened to believing me, huh?" Darcy asked dryly. "I didn't expect you to, don't worry. The Reality Gem. Do you know where it is?"

"What is that?" Loki asked.

"Infinity Gems? Infinity Stones? The Mind Gem, the Space Gem, which is also called the Tesseract. The Power Gem, also known as the Aether. These are the ones we have, and we were looking for the Reality Gem. I'm assuming, anyway. You never really told me which one we were looking for, but it just popped into my mind," Darcy said. He frowned.

"I have never heard of those, Darcy. There is no such thing as Infinity Stones," Loki said.

"Okay, let's see. This reality is way different to our true reality. I mean, my background is almost the same, except I'm a lot more successful, better liked, more confident…and I guess if I was going to become immortal, the one thing that wouldn't make me quite as sad is having my parents join me too. I didn't have loads of friends, less than in my true reality, which might just be this reality's way of making me immortal easier. Your background here…your mother's alive, I don't really know much about either of them…oh and your Godly title is different here. Yours here has Magic in it, but in our true reality, I think it was Lies. The big change is how you're Asgardian here, whereas…Jotunn? in true reality, and the Jotunns here never invaded Earth, never became thought of as monsters and you didn't cause all sorts of chaos on Earth," Darcy said. Loki listened to her, but was quite confused. He put his hands on her shoulders and brought her into a hug, to which she stiffened. That hurt.

"I…said I would believe you, but I honestly…I have no idea what you are talking about," Loki said softly. "Why do you stiffen? I am only trying to comfort you, my love."

"The library! Maybe if we tried to get out the same way we got in!" Darcy said. "There _has_ to be a way. I can't be stuck here in some false reality."

"What is wrong with it? Darcy, you are scaring me…do you still love me? Ebony?" Loki asked, pulling back to look at her. Darcy frowned.

"It's more complicated than that…please, Loki, just come with me. If I end up wrong and I'm just going crazy, then I promise you I'll seek help," Darcy said. Maybe she was suffering that post-natal depression thing. It made him sad.

"You need to sleep, first," Loki said.

"No! This can't wait! Loki, if I sleep now, I can't sleep with you; the way I'm feeling, just…please, let's go now!" Darcy said. She seemed to stop for a moment, her gaze sad. "But I will see Ebony before we do." Loki didn't really have a choice. He led her back inside and Darcy took Ebony back into her arms, asking everyone to leave the room for a moment. However, he reappeared back in the room invisibly. What he saw was distressing; Darcy was sobbing, holding Ebony close to her and Ebony was touching Darcy's face, her own little face looking a little confused. Or as confused as a newborn could appear, anyway.

"I'm sorry, little one. I wish I could keep you; I wish you were real," Darcy sobbed, rocking her as if she was trying to memorise the scene. It made Loki sad and he left her to it. About half an hour later, Darcy exited the room and gave Ebony to Frigga. "Loki is taking me back to our home in Vanaheim…we want to move back here, so we might as well get our things." His family took the lie and Loki took her silently to the observatory, nodding silently to Heimdall. The sword was placed inside its holder to start the transportation.

"Listen to Darcy, Loki. All is not what it seems," Heimdall said, which made him look at Heimdall with a frown. If this was all some sort of dream, surely Heimdall couldn't know…

"What…" He started.

"The Reality Gem does not affect myself or your father; we are quite aware that we are a dream," Heimdall said. Loki frowned even more.

"What…" Loki said.

"We will not remember once we awaken, but the Allfather is quite content to enjoy the company of the wife and son he lost," Heimdall answered. That left him reeling; why would Odin care? "Now, go, Silvertongue." Something tightened in his chest and he didn't understand it. They were sent to Vanaheim and Darcy looked at him.

"Wow…do you believe me now?" Darcy asked. Loki shook his head.

"I'm still very confused as to what is going on…" Loki said. She dragged him towards the library and stepped towards the circles.

"So, if we think about the Reality Gem or something, maybe we can return…we'll do something to return, keep trying different things," Darcy said, making to step forward, but Loki didn't budge. She looked at him. "What are you doing?" He let her hand go and backed off.

"No…" Loki spat. Something was stirring and he didn't want to return. Whatever this true reality was, he wanted none of it. Darcy took hold of his hand and tried to pull him.

"Please?" Darcy asked.

"What about Ebony?" Loki asked. Instantly, her eyes were watering again and she swallowed, unable to stop the tears falling.

"Do you think I want to leave her? Either way, I lose, Loki. This is a dream. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live," Darcy said.

"Quoting Harry Potter? There is a time and a place―" Loki spat.

"That's just it; I don't know how long has passed in real time, but we're inside a dream, Loki. We can't stay here," Darcy said.

"Why not?" Loki said, before smiling, but it wasn't a nice smile. "Here I have everything. In reality, I have nothing. And what about you? Is your life really worth returning to? Is this not better?" Darcy looked wounded and slapped him.

"We're _aware_. And married. Do you really want to be married to me?" Darcy asked.

"Well, I am sure the benefits would be enjoyable," Loki said, before she slapped him again.

"I wouldn't give you any; not if you were the last man on―" Darcy started, before rolling her eyes.

"Go on, this is entertaining. We are not on Earth, so I think I have a chance," Loki said.

"In the universe. I would rather fuck a horse, but I wouldn't want to steal your boyfriend," Darcy spat. He glared at her. "See? Why live like this? Let's _go_."

"I am sure I could find a way to make us forget," Loki said. "Anything is better than reality." Darcy kicked him in the shins twice and managed to pull him onto the circle.

"NO!" Loki yelled, before darkness took over.

* * *

Loki blinked awake to find himself in a large chamber, one clearly underground. He had heard of the library having underground chambers, but he never actually confirmed it. Darcy was crouched next to the wall opposite to him and he realised they were back in reality. It hit him like a punch to the gut; his mother was dead, he was a Jotunn and he would never have such a life. He would never be accepted. Loki stood up and walked to another room.

"I need to be alone," Loki said, shutting the door behind him and walking over to a wall, sliding down it. The memories of everything wrong in his life were cascading through his mind and he put his face in his hands, hating it all and, most of all, himself. It was all his fault, at the end of the day. Maybe he should have done a better job of killing himself instead of falling off the Bifrost; even though he wasn't to know he would be rescued by a deranged titan with sadistic tendencies, he should have done something more definite. If Midgard fell, it wouldn't have been by his hand. Or whatever brought him back after Kurse's attack should have left him be. Loki didn't know when the tears had started, but he noticed when he was apparently sobbing into his hands. He wished he could rewind time; to a point before he had let the Jotunns into Asgard and just…deal with everything in a different way. Thor would be King, he would probably not have found out that he was a monster and life would have gone on the same. Which…wasn't always that good either way. People weren't as fond of him as they were of Thor. He would just be an eternal shadow. Now he was just the eternal monster, which no amount of saving Thor's life could change. Loki felt arms around him and he stiffened.

"I thought I―" Loki spoke, cursing the wobble in his voice.

"Oh, shut up, I can't leave you in here like this," Darcy said softly.

"Go," Loki said.

"No," Darcy said. Loki sniffed, trying to wipe his tears, but they kept coming.

"You should have left me. I was _happy_ there," Loki said.

"You'd be living a lie," Darcy said.

"I have lived with lies my entire life; I think I could handle more," Loki said.

"I doubt it; if you sent a giant death ray robot down to Earth and a year later tried to destroy it, I don't think you take lies very well," Darcy said. Loki rested his face back into his hands. "Look, it's okay to cry; it's not unmanly. That's what I hate about guys; they think it's a bad thing for them to let it out like this. I think it makes you more…well, human's a kind of moot point right now, but hopefully you get what I mean. Anyway, just…talk to me, tell me what's wrong." Loki wasn't sure whether to or not; he was always particularly private with his hurts, but that hadn't done him any good in the past.

"That life…I suppose it is my ideal life. Acceptance, being part of their family by blood, being honest, a proper fighter…someone to love and eventually have children with. My father being proud of me and more attentive. Here I am just…the monster, but even if I turned back time, I would still be the strange one," Loki explained. He felt her grip tighten and even a kiss to his cheek. He looked at her for a moment before just allowing it.

"I can see why you might have gone batshit crazy. It doesn't excuse you, but it's a little more understandable," Darcy said. He felt her hand on the side of his face as she pulled him closer to her and onto her collarbone. Loki felt…he actually felt comforted by this. He lowered his knees to the floor and put his arms around her too

Loki woke sometime later and looked down at Darcy, who was sleeping against him in turn. He wondered how long they had actually been in that dream world and wondered how they would get the Reality Gem. He did hope he hadn't missed the opportunity and it had been embedded in that dream. He dreaded to think how they would get it then; would they have to live through another dreadful reality, and who knew whether that would be a dystopic one where…what? A reality in which they did not exist. He didn't want to think about what life would be like. Probably better for everyone. Midgard wouldn't have lost all those people, at least, not by his hand, Jotunheim…Asgard…Loki stared blankly ahead, barely aware of anything as he tried to process what life would be like.

"You're crying again," Darcy's voice said softly, breaking through his thoughts. He looked down at her and reached up to wipe the tears away. "What are you thinking about?"

"What life would be like if I had not been born," Loki said monotonously. He was looking away from her, unable to see the sad expression on her face.

"Loki…" Darcy murmured. There was a pause. "Do you…are you sorry for what you did on Earth, both times?" Another pause.

"Apologies do not bring back the dead," Loki said, heavily.

"No, but it's better to be sorry than be an evil bastard who would do it all again and gets some crazy ass kicks out of it," Darcy said.

"Then, yes…New Mexico was a lapse in sanity and New York…was a result in much strain on my body and mind," Loki said, feeling as if he had aged many years.

"Torture?" Darcy asked. "Considering what I saw and heard in the Mind cave, it must have been bad."

"Yes. Torture and mind control. The former allowed the latter; otherwise, my mind is normally impenetrable," Loki said.

"I'm sorry. That mustn't have been easy, and I really don't know how to comfort you. How do you comfort someone who's been hurt so much that I don't know how they're still sane," Darcy said. Loki looked at her. He looked down at her hands and reached out his hand, clasping one of hers and squeezing.

"You need not try; you already are," Loki said. Darcy stood up and faced him, taking hold of his other wrist and trying to pull him up onto his feet.

"Then, let's go. We have three more Stones to find, right? That son of a bitch Reality Gem really pissed us around and we're going to make things right," Darcy said.

"I am not sure that this is the right time to procreate," Loki smirked.

"Don't even go there," Darcy said, rolling her eyes before she pulled him along with her by the hand. "Where do you think it might be? And where _are_ we?"

"In the lower chambers of the library; I was not even sure they existed," Loki said.

"How did we get here?" Darcy asked.

"I assume through the library portals. Instead of taking us to some books about the Gem, it took us here and promptly deposited us into the dream," Loki explained. He looked down at their hands. "Now who is the hand holder?" He smirked.

"Shut up," Darcy said, looking around.

"You have no idea where to start, do you?" Loki asked.

"Not really; I'm not really the leader type. I follow," Darcy said. Loki took charge and led them through the labyrinthine underground of the library she had only a small glimpse at; at least, in reality. She guessed it was the same as the dream. She had to admit, though it was actually rather plain, there was something thrilling about going through these hallways. Though, she couldn't tell the difference between the corridors because it all looked the same. Loki suddenly stopped at a cross section that looked exactly the same as two others they had crossed through.

"We are getting nowhere; it is repeating itself," Loki said.

"Are you sure this place just doesn't have some very dull and repetitive routes?" Darcy asked.

"No, I can sense it with magic. It just was not clear at first," Loki replied.

"How do we get out of it?!" Darcy asked.

"I am not sure," Loki said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's notes:** Once again sorry for the delay in updating; been a hectic few months. Thank you to the guest who reviewed the last chapter, I love hearing what people think and I've taken your suggestion to move this story to the Thor section; very helpful! 3

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter ten**

 **As the world falls down**

As much as this labyrinth was super fun and all, she really wanted to get out of it. Darcy couldn't stand it at all and it was frustrating her. She couldn't tell how long they had been wandering for and she was starting to wish they could just sit down forever; her feet were killing her. She wasn't hungry yet, but how long would they be walking before she needed food? She bet that Gods could go a long time without food, but she couldn't. Oh shit, did she need to pee? She was sure she needed to pee. Ignore it, ignore it, IGNORE IT! There was no place to pee and she wasn't doing so in some embarrassing way, even worse with Loki around.

"How the hell are we going to find this Gem, Loki? Is there even a way out of here? We better not be trapped, Loki, or I swear to God I will―" Darcy started panicking, before Loki put his hand over her mouth, pulling her close to him.

"Ssh," Loki murmured, looking around. Now that she stopped to listen to her surroundings, she could hear a sound. It sounded like something scuttling across the floors, though she couldn't work out where it was coming from or how far away it was. It would get louder at random moments and she had no idea what it was. It kind of scared her and she leant closer to Loki, her hands unconsciously reaching up to clutch him as she prayed that whatever it was wasn't harmful. From around the corner came none other than little Eryyi running, with something yellow glowing in her mouth. She jumped up onto Darcy's shoulder and settled there. Loki pulled away a little to take the yellow thing out of her mouth.

"The…I cannot believe it. It is the Reality Gem!" Loki said.

"Ya―aaaarrrgh!" Darcy yelled as the ground started shaking. Loki vanished the stone and picked her up bridal style while she squeaked in surprise and he ran through the corridors as the ceiling collapsed in on itself. It was terrifying and she held onto Loki for dear life, clutching so close and tightly that she barely felt the footfalls as he ran. She tried to ignore the scent that slowly took over her senses; the smell of winter, forest and something else. She couldn't place it at all, but it, along with the other scents, overwhelmed her. She peeked at his face and saw that he was completely focussed on getting the three of them out of there. Eryyi sat on her stomach and made no noise, perhaps knowing not to distract Loki from his quest to find an exit. He ran through a door and light blinded them for a few seconds before it cleared along with the quaking of the ground. The door they had come through had disappeared and everything was right again. Loki put her down carefully before looking around as if expecting something else to come out at them. The room looked very similar to the room they had awoken up in from the dream. She really, _really_ hoped they could get themselves out of this place now that they had the Gem. Loki obviously felt that they were safe now, because he had brought out the gauntlet and placed the Gem into the slot on the knuckle next to the smallest finger. Again Darcy wondered what his placement of the Gems would say about him. What would he place in the middle? What would be in the slot for the middle finger? They only had those two slots to fill, which was scary. What would he do with them once he had them all? Of course, she followed him and helped him, but it didn't mean she didn't worry as well.

Of course, he _had_ sworn some good oaths and whatnot, but it didn't really stop her from worrying and thinking the worst of him. Could anyone blame her? After all he had done… _tsk._ She had forgotten. Darcy was so mixed up; so embedded with the simple notion that he had wrecked so much havoc that she failed to remember that he had been tortured to the point of mind control and had been through a lot. It didn't completely excuse him (the New Mexico incident, anyway), but he wasn't quite the monster she and countless others had made him out to be. It would be difficult to get away from that initial thinking. Loki was far more complex than you could ever imagine. Sometimes he acted like an asshole and sometimes he acted in a nice way. Of course, they helped each other throughout this journey, but with her, she helped any way she could even though she never anticipated doing very well. He had more means to do so and a bad reputation that would suggest he wouldn't. Darcy got a headache just thinking about it. She wondered whether it would be inappropriate for her to hug him for saving her life.

"So…what next?" Darcy asked.

"I think we should take a break; I am sure you will need food," Loki said, sitting down on the floor and pulling Darcy down too. She fell half into his lap, though she straightened up quickly. She saw his face and scowled at him. He was smirking.

"Shut up!" Darcy said.

"I did not even speak," Loki said, grinning like the damned Cheshire Cat. She wanted to punch him. Instead, she growled and practically pounced on him, lightly shoving him because, really, she wasn't one for physical violence. Sure, she had her taser, but that was for emergencies (and crazy Gods). Loki laughed, hands clamping over her upper arms as he just smirked at her antics before rolling and pinning her to the floor. Darcy looked up at him with an unimpressed expression.

"Just because we were married in the dream, doesn't mean we're married here. We both know most of it was fabricated and not actually experienced, Loki," Darcy said. "Thank God; childbirth sounds awful. I'll be opting to get as high as possible."

Loki raised an eyebrow at that. "Why would you wish to give birth in a high place?" Loki asked. Darcy laughed.

"High as in choked up on drugs," Darcy said. "Advanced species my ass."

Loki rolled back over with a laugh. "I fear you have become too comfortable with me," Loki said.

"I don't think you _fear_ so much as you are _happy_. In some way, if only small," Darcy said. Loki raised an eyebrow at her, turning so that he faced her whilst lying on his side.

" _Happy_? You think I am _happy_?" Loki asked.

"A little bit happier, at least. I don't know. I'm still trying to work out why I'm here. You could have chosen some friend to help you. Why me? I think you were lonely," Darcy said.

"Now you are just being silly," Loki said, turning to lie on his back again.

"Whatever you say, Loki. Just remember that while I am here willingly _now_ , you are the one who forced me to come with you," Darcy said. "And underneath all that snark, meanness, tough exterior lies a Fairy Princess who is more emotional than a pregnant lady."

Now it was his turn to give her a bored expression. She just grinned in return. He sat up and in a swirl there was a blanket and some food on top of it. She sat back up and started to eat, watching as Eryyi took whatever she wanted and ate it. They must have sat there for about half an hour before Darcy was bored and wanted to get out of here. She looked over at Loki, who looked deep in thought, and poked him.

"What are you thinking about now?" Darcy asked.

"Nothing," Loki said.

"Bullshit. Come on; just be honest with me, alright? I'm not going to mock you," Darcy said. Loki sighed.

"My mind keeps returning to the dream; I…I guess I miss it. It was all I had ever wanted, but some of it would never be and the rest could never be now," Loki said. "I cannot help but wonder if the world would be better if…"

"…You never existed? Yeah, I've been there. I just think the world would just carry on. I haven't done anything spectacular," Darcy said. "But I don't dwell on it."

"I am sure you have those who care for you," Loki said.

"Mmhm, yeah, I do. It's what makes life worth living," Darcy said. Loki went quiet and she looked at him before crawling over and taking his right wrist. "Conjure the gauntlet thing."

"Why?" Loki asked.

"Just do it!" Darcy said. "I'm curious about something." Loki seemed reluctant, but he did as he was asked and her left hand that wasn't holding his wrist touched the yellow Reality Gem.

"What are you doing? These are not for pla―" Loki started.

"Oh, Reality Gem of gem…ness…show us what would have happened if Loki didn't exist," Darcy said.

"What? Darcy, no―"

* * *

Darcy and Loki appeared in some place that she certainly didn't recognise. She looked at Loki, who looked around before looking back at her angrily.

"What did you do that for?" He asked.

"You need to know. I know this could backfire and make things worse, but I am pretty sure this is the right thing to do," Darcy said. Loki's face seemed to scrunch up in a silent snarl, but his attention was brought to the arrival of a man who looked much older than Loki striding through the corridor. He didn't see them, which led her to believe that they were invisible. She took Loki's hand and pulled him along, following the man and wondering who it was. He seemed to have lost an eye, which was gross. Oh! Odin! Wow. They reached a large room that had a lounge in it too. She followed him into the bedroom, where a woman was holding a young infant, maybe one year old, who was dozing.

"Odin, you have returned…you are hurt! Come here!" The woman said.

"We won, dear Frigga, that is all that matters. That I have come home alive and able to see you and our son again," Odin said. Awww, baby Thor! How adorable.

"For that, I am glad. We should celebrate. Of course, there will be public celebrations, but I…I would rather like to have another child, Odin. Thor brings me much joy and I want even more; I want him to have a younger brother or sister," Frigga said.

"Of course," Odin smiled.

The scene changed and Frigga lay in her bed, sobbing so much that Darcy was sure that the whole palace could have heard her. There was blood on the sheets and healers by her side trying to soothe her. One of them tried to touch her shoulder, but she hit them away.

"Give him to me," Frigga said.

"Your Maj―" A healer said. Frigga glared at her and the healer scuttled off. Darcy looked up at Loki and saw that his face was full of shock and pain, his own eyes shining. The healer returned to her with a bundle, placing it into her arms and a fresh wave of tears flooded her cheeks as she looked down at the baby.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" A healer asked.

"No…there is nothing anyone can do for me. Nothing will bring my son back to me," Frigga said in a broken voice, clutching what must have been her dead child. A noise caught Darcy's attention and she looked over at a door to the right, where little Thor was peaking around the door, his blue eyes wide in confusion. What must have been his nanny reached him from behind and picked him up, shutting the door. Odin came into the room and joined her side, arm around her as she put her face to the bundle and sobbed. Darcy felt for her; it was a dream of sorts, but Darcy couldn't help the tears that fell down her face. She felt Loki squeeze her hand and looked up at him, seeing the tears there as well. She looked back at his parents and sniffed.

"Our son Balder…I wish I could have shown you the universe, little one," Frigga murmured. Darcy couldn't even comprehend the idea of losing a child. Of course, she still felt sad that Ebony had not been real, but it was just a dream. _This_ was just a dream. Right?

"Did your parents ever have…?" Darcy asked.

"No, no. I once asked whether they were going to have more children, but mother had said she was happy with just two," Loki said.

"This is…so sad," Darcy said.

The scene changed again and this time they saw what was the nearest to a memory montage she would probably ever see. Thor throughout the years, quite similar, she assumed, to what he was like before he was banished to New Mexico. He was quite unbearable, really, and she wasn't sure how he could have been picked for King. Loki seemed to have been the more mature one, too. She looked up at Loki.

"Was this what he was like before?" Darcy asked. Loki grimaced.

"This is far worse," Loki said.

"You must have been his balm," Darcy said.

"Yes, well, it is of no reassurance," Loki said. "It was clearly favouritism that drove Odin to choose one so ill for the throne. I did not want it, but by giving it to Thor when he was clearly not ready…"

Darcy put her hand on his arm. "Can't have been easy," Darcy said. Loki shook his head. They watched Odin suddenly stop and announce that there were Frost Giants in the vault before he and Thor made their way to the vault. The Frost Giants appeared to have been taken care of and they watched Thor get all angry, storming out. Needless to say, it didn't seem like Thor was doing any better having no brother.

"This is going to turn out very badly," Loki said.

And it did.

Darcy actually felt extremely sad even though she knew it wasn't real; she watched for the second time Frigga sobbing. It appeared Thor had just barged straight in there; no speech, nothing and guards were not quick enough to get word to Odin. By the time Odin had arrived, Thor and Fandral had been slain, with Sif and Volstagg barely standing. No one had been able to locate Hogun. Frigga had lost another son and the world was suddenly a colder place. She looked up at Loki and saw sorrow personified; he _did_ care. The guy just wasn't very good at showing it, preferring to hide behind snark and mean comments. She squeezed his hand and the scene seemed to change again. This wasn't like the last dream; this one they merely observed and didn't get to see all of it, just snippets. Heaven forbid how long _more_ would take.

They weren't on Asgard anymore; they were stood upon Stark tower, though she had only seen pictures, watching the sky turning grey with angry blue-black marks pulsing through it. She didn't know why, but it scared her. The sky practically exploded and great big metal things came spiralling down. She knew what they were; she had seen them all over the news. The Chittauri. No Loki here, either. Darcy tried to scream, tried to tell everyone to run but there was no use. Even if she wasn't way up high, they wouldn't hear her. Loki pulled her to his side and the scene blurred, different to usual, showing them London. Chittauri. Blur. Berlin. Chittauri. Blur. Tokyo. Chittauri. Rinse and repeat. It was _fucking everywhere, holy shit_.

"Why?! What…" Darcy breathed, trying to stop herself hyperventilating.

"They had no other way in, so they used all of their power and might, led by a brutal titan with no sense of mercy, to burst through from the abyss. They will attack until there is nothing left to attack, unless the titan decides otherwise. They will get the tesseract and…" Loki said. "I find it hard to believe that if I did not exist, the world would be a worse place." Something flashed and an army of what appeared to be Asgardians appeared.

"What?!" Darcy said.

"Midgard is under Asgard's protection; this is a fight that Midgard cannot win and undoubtedly the titan would attack Asgard next anyway. This way saves more lives," Loki said. Time flashed forward and the chittauri were dead. So were a lot of humans and even Asgardians. No missile to help them this time. No missiles were fired because there was simply no point. They were back in New York, on the ground and Tony Stark was dead. Bruce Banner and Steve Rogers were alive, probably due to their advanced states, and the two assassins were dead along with most of S.H.I.E.L.D., including Fury and Coulson. Maria Hill had miraculously survived, particularly because she had been working with Steve. She was talking to whoever was left. The city was a state; you could not even recognise it. She had a feeling that everything was broken. Most things beyond repair.

"What's the damage?" Steve Rogers asked. Maria Hill looked like she had seen a ghost. She licked her lips. No one was going to like the answer.

"We're not sure of the exact numbers; we can't even give a rough estimate, but they're using all of the technology we have right now," Maria said. Time seemed to still and her face became more and more ashen. "A third?"

Silence fell over them again before Maria dropped her hand. "At least a third of the world's population has fallen. If not more. A lot of food sources have been damaged or contaminated, Chittauri have fallen in water sources…" Maria said, brushing her hands over her face. It was truly awful.

And it only got worse.

A year later, nothing mattered to anyone ever again.

* * *

"Holy shit," Darcy said. "You don't cause Ragglerock, you _stop_ it." They were back in the underground chambers of the library.

"Ragnarök. It is a myth you mortals came up with to liven things up," Loki said, sighing. Really, he should be used to her by now. "Darcy, that is one such reality and it hardly helps any; the future can change on a whim, so chances are, Thor would have lived and everything would have happened accordingly." Darcy rolled her eyes.

"You're impossible," Darcy said. "You just can't see that you're not as bad a person as you make yourself out to be!"

"Oh? I think this dream has made you fond of me," Loki smirked. Darcy glared daggers at him.

"You need to learn to open up and let people in. There's no wonder you and Thor had such a time. Maybe it wasn't all Thor? Maybe you were just plain difficult!" Darcy half-yelled, before storming off.

Why does he have to be so difficult?!

* * *

 **Author's note:** Title borrowed from David Bowie's song, obviously!


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter eleven**

 **Close**

The mortal was impossible. How in the name of Yggdrasil was he supposed to believe such a reality would happen if he had not been born? Impossible. Absurd. Ridiculous. What was she after? Why did it matter to her? Loki couldn't make any sense out of Darcy. She was a sweet little thing, but she was messing around with the wrong monster. He wanted nothing more than to just hide and forget what he saw. It had been awful. He could not possibly be _that_ important. Thor wouldn't have died, just banished down to Midgard and, sure, he would have taken longer to become worthy but perhaps long enough for the Chittauri to get through, he would have Asgard come sooner and it would be sorted to some extent. Thor would be around to get Jane and the Aether, they would manage to get out some way or another, and force Heimdall to take them. Everything would be fine. No _shadow_ would take such an important role. Born to die. That was all. Odin, one of the most powerful people in the known realms, said it himself. Loki sighed and followed the path Darcy had taken. Of course, she hadn't gotten far and looked at him angrily when she saw him.

"Go away," Darcy said. Loki ignored her and stepped in front of her, leaning down and pulling her up by force, ignoring her struggles against him. "Get off!"

"We are going to try something," Loki said. "You showed me what it would be like in the universe if I did not exist, so I will show you how it is if _you_ did not exist."

"What?" Darcy said faintly. The gauntlet reappeared on his right hand and he put his arm around her before touching the yellow gem.

"Show us the reality that would be if Darcy Lewis did not exist," Loki said.

"Loki, nooooo," Darcy said, mocking his words with a sarcastic expression before they disappeared.

* * *

They appeared in a mortal hospital waiting room, where a man and a woman sat looking pale and worried. Loki looked down at Darcy to see her frowning. The pair must be her parents. He stepped closer to them and examined them. Her father had the same blue eyes as she did while her mother had brown eyes. Both parents had brown hair, but he could see that her shade was closest to her mother's. She definitely looked more like her mother, though he imagined people were more likely to look like the same gender parent. Thor did. Loki had no way nor any desire to see which parent _he_ looked most like. His parents were both from the same race of monsters he hated. There was no way of knowing whether or not he looked anything like his mother. He didn't care. She and Laufey had left him to die. Darcy returned his gaze.

"My parents, though…I don't really know what's happening here," Darcy said. They saw an assistant exit a room.

"Mr and Mrs. Lewis?" She asked. Loki pulled Darcy along after her parents into the room where they sat down. The doctor or nurse had a clipboard in her hands. Loki didn't really know why they had nurses and doctors. Why not just the one?

"We're sorry to inform you that, from our tests, the chances of you conceiving a child are quite slim," the doctor said. "There are fertility treatments, but we can't promise they'll be very effective. I'm sorry."

Oh. That was rather tragic. He looked at Darcy again and although she was sad, she didn't seem too surprised.

"They told me this is what the doctors told them, but I ended up being a miracle child. They had given up hope by the time they found out they had conceived and were beyond happy. Oh God, I know it's just…I bet this reality has no miracle child at all," Darcy whispered bitterly. Despite her earlier anger towards him, she clung to him, closer. "I think that dream…with Ebony…was coming from the fear that I'd take after my parents…"

It made sense, yet the girl was ever strong, feisty and, presumably, cheerful. Of course, she was right in her prediction. They watched the years go by and, nothing. Her parents managed to live a decent life, just not in the way they had hoped. By the time they had settled and come to terms with the idea, they were unable to adopt a child for one reason or another, the main one due to health reasons. Their lives were reasonable, but obviously the two wanted a child more than anything.

"They were always so happy and healthy, I can't imagine them succumbing to anything," Darcy said.

"Grief can do a lot more than you would think, apparently," Loki said. Mental health wasn't really an issue on Asgard. It was considered a mortal problem. Maybe some mortals would consider it existing in Asgard…he was smart enough to realise that his mental health might be lacking. However, he put that to the back of his mind because it simply wasn't worth thinking about.

The scene changed.

"Erik, can you drive me please? I need to focus on my equipment and getting the readings," Jane said. Erik drove the two of them all the way out into the dessert and parked so that Jane could figure out what the hell was going on. There was nothing going on right now and Jane was clearly determined despite Erik's denials. Loki remembered the man from his stint on Midgard. He didn't care to ask how the scientist was doing right now. He doubted it would be appropriate.

"Looks like they don't have me there to notice the storm straight away," Darcy said. Loki saw the storm, which was Thor's trademark entry into any realm, to the right while Jane and Erik were faced away in the back of the van. They weren't exactly facing the opposite way to the storm, but they certainly paid no attention to their surroundings while they argued. By the time they realised where the storm was, it was just finishing. Jane drove them to the site and they got out quickly.

"I can't believe I missed it! What are these markings?" Jane asked. She carried on talking while Erik was looking at Thor.

"Jane, we're not alone," Erik said. Jane looked over at Thor. "I think he needs to go to the hospital.

"Okay. You go, I stay," Jane said. Thor got up and, really, he was quite undignified and embarrassing to watch. Shouting to Odin, hammer…what next? In the end, Thor was little better than he was. Erik was trying his best to communicate with him, but Thor was too confused and irrational right now, which ended up with Erik on the floor knocked out after he had tried to calm Thor down. Now _that_ finally got the stupid woman's attention. She huddled around Erik and brought out her communication device, speaking into it. Luckily for Thor, he managed to not attack any further and was apprehended by the police once they and an ambulance came to take Erik, since she couldn't lift him. Jane followed in her van and followed the ambulance.

"Holy crap, wow…not sure that's going to end well for either of them," Darcy said.

"I do not suppose it will," Loki agreed. The police held Thor in custody for a while, although part of it was because S.H.I.E.L.D. had called in to make sure they did and they took him in after looking through Jane's findings and figuring out he had something to do with it. Loki came down and the events unfolded similarly, except with no more interaction with Jane and Erik. The damage came down on S.H.I.E.L.D. instead of the town and Thor did get his worthiness back, but it appeared that while nothing was really changed with regards to Loki's attack on Midgard, Jane and Thor never fell in love without Darcy being there.

The scene soon changed and showed the elves finding the Aether themselves and heading straight for Midgard once the convergence was at its peak. By the time it anyone realised, it was too late and everything went dark.

* * *

Loki and Darcy returned to the underground passages once again. This had become a routine.

"Wow…that was surreal, but…" Darcy said.

"It is difficult to believe. Do you see now, why I cannot simply believe that the universe is a better place with me in it?" Loki asked. Darcy sighed and tugged on his hand.

"Sure, I guess, but Loki, there's no point dwelling on it; we need to move on. _You_ need to stop beating yourself up and just _do something about it_. Make the world right or whatever," Darcy said. Then she softened. "I know you're capable of it…you've shown me that."

"It is not quite that easy," Loki muttered.

"But just _try_. It won't be easy nor a quick solution, just…" Darcy said.

"Alright," Loki said. Eryyi jumped onto Darcy's shoulder again and Loki took them back out into the streets of Vanaheim. He walked to a magical clock that also showed the date that stood in the square and his eyes widened. Scholars had long ago determined that time within all the realms worked the same way, give or take depending on the place, much like the individual time zones found on Midgard. So while it might be daytime in America of Midgard, it was night time on Asgard. So according to this, it had been about five months since they entered the library. He looked at Darcy.

"Five months have passed since we entered," Loki said.

"Five?! What?! Oh shit," Darcy said. "How did that happen?!"

"I imagine the forceful reality shift made time go by quicker than it should have. The dream…I suppose we only really experienced five months of it, the rest was either false memory or lack of awareness that it did not happen. For example…" Loki trailed off.

"Sex. Yeah. Like, we knew it happened to get me pregnant, but I can't remember…it, which would be freaky," Darcy said, shivering suddenly.

"Indeed," Loki said. "I think we should visit healer Auðr and make sure you are well."

"What? Why? I feel fine. I'm not pregnant, seriously, that was a dream," Darcy said. He couldn't help but laugh.

"It is not because of such an absurd notion. It is merely to make sure your health is in order after so long," Loki said. Darcy sighed and allowed him to drag her along down the street towards the healer's home. He shifted his appearance and brought them both into visibility without a hitch. He knocked on the door and someone opened the door.

"Hello?" The woman asked.

"Hello, we are here to see Healer Auðr," Loki said. "I would like for my friend to have a check up."

"I am afraid Auðr is no longer with us; there was an attack here two months ago and she was killed in the fray," the woman replied. Loki frowned. He had liked this healer a lot; so much better than most of Asgard's healers.

"I am truly sorry to hear that. Blessed be her soul and let her rest with enlightenment," Loki said.

"That she can be one with knowledge," the woman answered. "Thank you, good man. We can give your friend a check up if this is alright by you?"

"I cannot see a problem with that," Loki said, looking at Darcy to see no objection there. Good. They stepped inside and followed the woman into the healing room.

"I am Sonor, it is a pleasure," she said.

"Likewise," Loki said. "I am Linðr, this is my mortal friend Darcy. We have recently underwent a rather unusual journey and I wish to make sure she has not fallen ill invisibly or otherwise."

Sonor nodded and gestured for Darcy to lie down on the healing table. Loki noticed that she was nervous, so he put his arm around her shoulders and looked into her eyes, reassuring her that she would be safe. He lifted her carefully after she nodded and placed her on the table, telling her to keep her hands still. Sonor got to work and he observed the energy at work. He wasn't a qualified healer, but he was quite versed in healing and was quite sure that there was nothing wrong with her.

"Darcy is healthy," Sonor announced.

"How about…I'm curious, my parents had been told they were extremely unlikely to have children…" Darcy started.

"You have not inherited that trait, my dear. Your only worry is if your future partner had troubles. Even then, we Vanir or the Light Elves could quite possibly sort that problem out," Sonor smiled. Darcy's expression was happy and shocked. Loki picked her up again and put her back on her feet.

"Thank you, Lady Healer," Loki said, bringing out a small pouch of coinage and placing it in her hands. "We bid you good day."

Darcy nodded. "And sorry about Auðr, I'm sure she was a wonderful person," Darcy said. Sonor nodded and Loki led her out of the house. He led her through the streets before stopping at an inn and leading her inside, getting a room with twin beds. Once inside, he watched Darcy kick her shoes off and jump onto one of the beds.

"You don't know how much I needed this bed…or I guess you did," Darcy said. "I can't believe Auðr is dead…how many more?"

"There have been a few deaths, two of whom I knew, the third I did not," Loki said.

"Rules out someone out for revenge against you," Darcy said. "Thank God. That's so cliché."

"You are quite something," Loki said as he walked over to the bed and lay down on the it. Yes, she was something else. Quite unlike any other female he had come across. What a pity she was mortal. He would have to give her back to Midgard once they found the last gem. He couldn't keep her forever; she had a life and was probably worried about. Loki never really thought about that before now. All he ever seemed to think about was himself, though he supposed that wasn't completely true. Loki didn't even notice Darcy getting up before she was climbing into bed with him and snuggling up to him. He moved over so there was more space for them both. He was used to this now, her arms around him and his around her. Such a strange notion. However, he would not turn her away. He found that he liked her sprawling all over him.

"You certainly go deep in thought a lot. Sorry, I hope you don't mind…I guess I just have this urge to try and cheer you up," Darcy said.

"You are very considerate, thank you," Loki said, feeling lighter.

"Although, your armour is pretty hard," Darcy said. "I'm not sure whether it's comfortable or not." Loki phased into a cotton tunic, much softer and simpler.

"Better?" Loki asked.

"Much," Darcy said.

* * *

The next morning Loki woke up slowly to the feeling of Darcy sprawled all over him. They _had_ eaten the 'room service' food, as Darcy called it, but otherwise not left the bed. Loki moved a little and realised he had a little problem. How embarrassing; it didn't usually happen to him. In fact, it was an extremely rare occurrence, unlike for other men he had heard of. He was thankful that Darcy was still asleep and he could sort out his problem without her realising. Loki didn't understand why, as he was above the desperate needs of the pleasures a man or a woman's body could bring him, so this was completely beyond his comprehension. Loki sighed and waved his hand, using magic to solve it. Another advantage to magic. Just in time, of course, as he felt Darcy stirring before she blinked her eyes open and looked around.

"Morning," Darcy said.

"Good morning," Loki said.

"Where are we headed today?" Darcy asked.

"Jotunheim…we have been there briefly before, but I have a feeling we should go there," Loki said.

"The cold one? Sure, wait, is that where you're from? Originally, I mean," Darcy asked. Loki nodded stiffly before getting up and gesturing for her to join him. Once she was off the bed, he fixed them up with magic and led her out of the room. They sat down to have some breakfast before he took her out of the inn and transported them to their little boat. Loki used his magic to take them to Jotunheim and he was confronted with the familiar wasteland. Why did he have to come here? Were one of the Gems here? He hated being here. Darcy must have sensed his tension because she was holding his hand again. Loki looked down at her and gave her a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. He walked with her through the wasteland, realising that he was in the same place that he, Thor and the others had arrived, but it was in far worse condition than before. His actions before he had fallen from the Bifrost had caused this and he hoped they found whatever it was that had brought him here before the Jotunns decided to roast him. However, luck was not to be on their side as they were suddenly surrounded by Jotunns.

He used his magic to surround Darcy completely with a shield and stared around at the Jotunns, all of which looked ready to attack. So they did. Loki used mainly shields and his knives to fend himself off, all the while keeping Darcy protected. Oddly enough, the Jotunns didn't target her, but he wasn't going to take any chances. They fought this way for a while before a sudden flash of light and a whole bunch of blue beings, the same ones from Nidavellir, came at them. There were quite a lot of them, far more than when they attacked the dwarves. He imagined they were well aware of the giants' strength and decided to bring more. Loki looked at the Jotunns who were unsure who to attack.

"Truce! Let us not fight each other…we need to fight _them_ ," Loki yelled. The Jotunns looked at each other before nodding and he found himself working alongside the ones he had grown up to hate in order to defend against the creatures who had slain a few people he knew. Even that poor Fire Giant girl had suffered at the hands of these barbarians and it felt good to fight them. It was all strangely surreal, but it soon stopped when the sounds of alarm came from the settlement nearby. The blue tyrants disappeared in a flash and the Jotunns forgot about Loki in their rush to return to the source of the alarms. Loki took Darcy around the waist and led her after them. He did not know why, but he needed to know what was going on. He had a horrible feeling he didn't need to see, though. Reaching the source, Loki stopped a little behind the Jotunns, who were huddled around a fallen figure.

"No! How did this happen? Who did this?" One Jotunn asked.

"We did not see it happen! It was…very strange," another said.

"The attack by those beings must have been a distraction so that they could target her," Loki said. "Who is she?"

"Princess Embyr, the Queen's daughter," a Jotunn replied, before looking at Loki with narrowed eyes. "You are no longer safe."

"I realise that. However, I am prepared to tell you all that I know, if you would let us go quietly," Loki said.

"You test our patience, Odinson. What information do you have?" The Jotunn asked.

"Those beings have not only done this here on Jotunheim, but also on Nidavellir, Muspelheim and Vanaheim. All female, now that I think about it. A young girl from Nidavellir, a young one from Muspelheim and a healer from Vanaheim," Loki said. "Is there anything about Embyr that I should know? I think these attacks are related, but I know not how."

The Jotunns exchanged a look before looking back at him suspiciously. "She was a warrior, the first for Jotunheim…joined our guard as soon as she was allowed, after the Queen stepped in," the Jotunn explained.

"If you let us leave here today, I can further investigate these occurrences. I can assist your revenge," Loki said.

"We still owe you some revenge for the damage upon Jotunheim," a Jotunn growled.

"He _did_ kill Laufey, though," another said dryly, causing a little round of snickering. Huh.

"Hmmm…we will allow you to leave, but if you return without anything useful, you will not be given the same luxuries," the Jotunn said.

"Thank you," Loki said, bowing before walking off with Darcy. Once they were out of earshot, he took her hand.

"You could have gotten us out of here without their permission. Right? Right?!" Darcy asked.

"Of course. This way they are less angry with me," Loki said. "Only a very small fraction, but even so."

"You're going to make me go premature grey one of these days," Darcy said. He laughed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note:** Okay! Like I said at the beginning, this fic is M because while it's not explicit, it's not fade to black either. It's hopefully tasteful. It's hopefully not cringe-worthy either, but hey. ; ) So yes, kinda M-rated stuff gonna happen here, fair warning!

* * *

 **Chapter twelve**

 **Isn't it wonderful?**

Loki took her to Alfheim, since it was one of the realms they hadn't checked. Loki had said something about not feeling any signs of unusual power on Jotunheim, so it must have just been about the mysterious blue beings that drew him there. Darcy really hoped that no one else would be killed, but it seemed to be a pattern. She wondered if anyone else had died that they didn't know about…was Earth going to be next? Even if they went there and warned someone, it seemed to be pointless. The person died no matter what. It was a depressing thought. They appeared in a little meadow full of flowers and surrounded by beautiful trees. Quite a sight to behold. Darcy could stay there all day if given the chance. She wasn't sure that they would spend much time here, though. Loki was getting more and more anxious to find the rest of the Gems, annoyed that so much time had passed between getting the Mind Gem and getting the Reality Gem. Honestly, she didn't know how Eryyi had found the Gem nor how she hadn't been affected by the dream (Loki had confirmed her suspicion), but she was relieved. She could imagine the unfortunate need to return to a dream world to get it, but she didn't want to do that. Not again.

They walked through a line of trees and into a small town. Her breath left her as she realised that they lived in little homes in the trees, stairs spiralling around the tree trunks and leading up to the intricately carved houses. Bigger than what she would have expected, Darcy was still surprised at the size of them. Could families fit in those? Darcy wasn't sure how she felt about it, but Loki seemed to be able to read her mind.

"They are magically enchanted, like my room and the houses of the Dwarves…bigger on the inside," Loki explained quietly.

"Like Time Lords…so weird," Darcy said.

"I am not sure what you mean…there are no such things. There are time spells, but most Sorcerers with that spell are dead," Loki said.

"Really? How many are there now?" Darcy asked. "And Time Lords are fictional people from a tv show on Earth…"

"Only one left," Loki said.

"Let me guess…you?" Darcy asked. Loki smiled and she knew it was true. "Seriously? You had that power and you still lost against the Avengers? Jeez, what the hell, man."

"You make it sound so simple; my time there was when I was at my weakest. You see, Thor is often at his strongest when he is emotional or angry, whereas I tend to be deadlier when I am level-headed," Loki said. "Of course, he is still strong when he is level-headed, but there was once a time that this applied almost completely. Now, I believe he is strong regardless. Angry or not, he has conviction. He is not one to lie, being quite honest and straight forward. If he says he is going to do something, he rarely fails to follow through."

"I could see that. I feel like you're missing the point," Darcy said.

"Not being in full control, my powers were not used to their potential," Loki said with a shrug. Darcy could tell that he didn't care. He didn't want to be that person. Darcy walked in silence with him through the little town that seemed so precious and peaceful. She wished she had her camera. As it was, she didn't even have her phone with her. If she had, then she would have tried to call home or Jane long ago. The last person she saw was Ian, her poor intern. She knew Loki would take her home after this journey, though. The things she had seen…no one could possibly fake it. She hoped he eventually found Thor and talked to him, because Thor was devastated by Loki's death. She hoped he realised that.

"Are we staying here?" Darcy asked.

"We are going to carry on through until we find the big city," Loki said.

"Why didn't you just teleport us there like always?" Darcy asked.

"I thought you would prefer the scenic route," Loki smirked. Darcy chuckled.

" _Now_ you're being thoughtful? Wow, who are you and what did you do to Loki?" Darcy asked. He scoffed.

"You mortals and your strange humour," Loki teased. Darcy stuck her tongue out at him and looked around, enjoying the view and glad he was being so thoughtful. It was very considerate of him and she was only a little weirded out by that. Eryyi had jumped off her shoulder and skipped on ahead, so it was a little like they were following the cute little thing to where she was taking them. Darcy didn't think the little critter would lead them into danger at all and Loki had said that this planet was probably the safest one around. Darcy and Loki stopped for a moment as a bunch of children passed them giggling and playing with some items Darcy didn't recognise. Must be Light Elf toys. Darcy smiled as she watched them, though she couldn't help but remember Ebony. Their fictional child. Her smile dropped and she didn't realise she had slowed down to a stop until Loki was leaning down in front of her, asking what was wrong.

"I just…I know she wasn't real, but I guess it's going to take some time to stop feeling sad about Ebony," Darcy murmured softly. Loki reached out and cupped her face with his hand before taking something out of his pocket, putting it into her hand.

"I was not sure when to give it to you; you were quite angry with me after the second reality," Loki said. Darcy took it and stared down at it. A photograph. Loki and her in the bed together, holding Ebony in her arms. Her hand clapped her face as she felt the tears spring out of her eyes in a sudden sob.

"Oh my God," Darcy whispered. "When did you…how?"

"I do not need a device to create pictures from memory. Magic can do a lot of things…I suppose if you wish for an easier explanation, it would be like taking a picture within the pensieve with your own memories," Loki explained.

"In Harry Potter?" Darcy asked.

"Yes," Loki said. Silence fell between them before she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Thank you," Darcy said, feeling his arms reciprocate lightly. "You're very thoughtful."

She carried on hugging him for a few moments before pulling away and staring down at the photo again. She placed it in a pocket and nodded to him. They carried on walking. She wasn't sure what the plan was or whether they were just searching randomly…Darcy had just learnt to roll with it these days. Considering they were still here, though, she imagined that he sensed something. Darcy couldn't imagine having such an ability. It sounded awesome. If only. They were walking through a forest again and it was peaceful. She felt her shoulders relax as she walked beside Loki, her unlikely…friend? She didn't know whether they were considered friends now. They'd been through so much together and she couldn't say she hated it either. Some was frightening, some was sad, but honestly? She'd never felt so alive in all her…

"You've GOT to be kidding me!" Darcy yelled suddenly, stopping. Loki looked back at her with a confused expression.

"What is the matter?" Loki asked.

"I missed my own birthday! Oh my God! How the hell? We were in there but it felt like longer…how does that work?!" Darcy said. Loki rubbed her hair.

"I missed mine as well, though I care not for such things. It is but another year," Loki said. "The months that have passed in reality must be the total amount of time we spent in the dream…everything else was pushed on by false memory. Both so closely intertwined, you would think it had been longer."

"How old are you, anyway?" Darcy asked. "If that isn't rude."

"Rude? Why would it be rude? I am one thousand and forty-seven years old," Loki said. "How about yourself?"

"Twenty-three now," Darcy said. "Yeah, some people find it rude to ask another person's age on Earth."

"You are a strange bunch," Loki said. "The older you are the better. Some do not consider me good enough to teach magic based solely on my age, however I have always been considerably gifted in magic, so a show of my powers never failed to change minds."

"So not arrogant at all, huh?" Darcy said.

"I suppose by your standards, but Thor would say the same. Given that he is a hero among your people, I would think that is no bad thing?" Loki said. Darcy shrugged.

"Tony Stark is an arrogant asshole a lot of the time and a hero. People have a love-hate relationship with him," Darcy explained. "Heroes aren't perfect; no one is. Some even have had to bring themselves up from a bad state in order to make a difference to the world and save it. Heroes don't even have to have actually saved anyone, either. It's all about the intent. That's why I think you are a hero, in some respects. It seems like you were pretty good before you lapsed into crazy town, and you've not left me to die yet. You were diplomatic with those you don't seem to care for, and you even helped them and others. You're a good person, Loki. But you don't have to be perfectly likable. I know I'm not."

Loki cupped her face and stared into her eyes with a no-nonsense look in his eyes. It was things like this that made her feel something. Something far different than the hatred she'd had for him when he first kidnapped her. It wasn't Stockholm syndrome, either; she was sure he would have taken her home if she truly insisted.

"You are a delight to travel with, Darcy. If the circumstances were different, I am sure we would have been perfect for each other," Loki said with a crooked smile. She felt both warmed and yet saddened by his words, something deep inside her hurt to hear that. She didn't know why. He let her go and took her by the hand. "I will take you to the main city, which is where we need to go."

Darcy nodded. She felt Eryyi land on her shoulder before they disappeared and appeared in a large and very beautiful city. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. It was truly majestic, all white and glowing, though not in the way that would blind someone. The buildings were not in the trees like in the village they were in before, but white stone or maybe something like ivory buildings, some of them surrounded by little streams. The main path through, leading to the beautiful palace far in the distance, was lined with the same streams. It was almost like seeing a mini venice, just not quite so terrifying since it would barely rise above her ankles. There was also a lot of green in the shape of trees and other nature, along with plenty of flowers. Truly a sight to behold. Loki led her along the long path, and looking around, she could imagine the city creating a beautiful intricate pattern if it were to be seen from above.

"This is beautiful," Darcy said.

"It is indeed," Loki said. Darcy couldn't help but spend the whole time walking towards the palace staring all around her, simply marvelling at the sight. It took some time, but when the palace came closer, she was awestruck. Two palaces she had seen now. It was hilarious that she had seen alien palaces before seeing one of Earth. She looked up at Loki.

"Are we going in there?" Darcy asked. Loki smiled at her.

"Yes. I am good friends with the Queen…or rather, I was. Light Elves are usually rather forgiving, so I have a high hope. However, we will only reveal ourselves when we find her…we need not cause an incident. Or rather, _I_ ," Loki said. It made sense; he was supposed to be dead or at least in prison, depending on how fast news travelled.

"Does news travel quickly between planets?" Darcy asked.

"Alfheim, Vanaheim and Asgard are deeply connected. While they may not have heard of my supposed death, they will certainly know of my actions on Asgard, Midgard and of my imprisonment," Loki said. "Nidavellir hear what they need to hear. They are more distant, though not necessarily ignorant to the events of the eight realms. Midgard is of its own accord; we do not keep track of its activities nor get involved unless one of the eight realms interferes…even then, it is Asgard who are what you might call the universal police."

"Interesting," Darcy said. Stepping into the palace, Darcy couldn't work out whether she preferred Asgard's palace or this place. It was just too fairytale. Loki knocked on a door and heard a request to enter, which had them enter a very fancy room. Near an ornate dresser stood a woman who looked little older than herself with yellow-blonde ringlets and soft blue eyes. She looked like someone you could pour your heart out to and receive only warmth and love in return. Right now, she looked surprised to see Loki, and a little stern. Loki lowered himself to one knee, which Darcy copied, unsure whether it would be impolite not to.

"Queen Freyja," Loki said.

"Prince Loki," she returned. She looked at Darcy. "Lady Darcy, you may stand. While I appreciate your gesture, here on Alfheim such an act is reserved only for the guilty or dishonoured."

Darcy stood up slowly, a little embarrassed, but it slipped away quickly. She looked at Loki and instantly snickered, before looking around embarrassed again. "Sorry…I couldn't help myself. Um…I don't really know how to address the royalty of other planets."

Freyja smiled. "It is quite alright. You may address me as Freyja, for Alfheim is not so strict. Here we show respect to each other equally," Freyja said. "So relax." Darcy did. It was so easy. Freyja turned to Loki again.

"Your Majesty, I bid that we keep this between us for the time being. I am…well, I would rather no one know of my presence just yet," Loki said.

"You are considered dead to Asgard, yet you would seek to hurt them further?" Freyja asked.

"Temporarily, my Lady. First I am on a journey…a mission, if you like and I would like to ask you but a small favour," Loki said.

"Alfheim does owe you a lot…" Freyja said, as if it was unfortunate, but there was a playful undertone to her words.

"You owe me nothing, my lady. I never assist you or your people because I want something in return," Loki said.

"What is it you seek, Loki?" Freyja asked. Darcy noticed that Loki had not looked up from the floor once.

"Information. I am looking for an Infinity Gem, likely the Soul Gem," Loki said. Freyja laughed and it was musical.

"Oh, Loki. The Soul Gem has not been hidden. Alfheim does, however, hold the Time Gem. I speak this to you in the hopes that you have no further plans to fall back into your most recent habits. This darkness does not suit you, Loki. You do not possess the conviction and frame of mind to be such a monster," Freyja said.

"Quite ironic, really, considering I killed a man who said a similar thing," Loki said. Darcy's insides churned. He said it so casually. "And I am a monster, Freyja."

"Yes, I know, Loki. He was a good man," Freyja said. "You are only a monster if you let yourself be one. If you _want_ to be one. Do you want to be a monster, Loki?"

"No," Loki said. "I have no bad intentions with the Gem. I promise."

"Then you will find the Gem you seek in the White Lake, which you can find only if your intentions are pure," Freyja said.

"Thank you. It is good to see the Gem is well-hidden," Loki said.

"How many have you found so far?" Freyja asked.

"All but the Soul and the Time Gems," Loki answered. Freyja smiled.

"I am sure you will find them soon enough," Freyja said. "Go on, Loki. Come back only when you have stopped your lies to your family." Darcy could feel the tension in Loki.

"Yes, my Lady," Loki said.

"They are your family, Loki, even if your old man is rather in need of a talking to. Perhaps I will lend a hand there someday," Freyja smiled a little wickedly. Darcy liked her a lot. Loki stood and nodded, taking Darcy's hand again.

"Farewell, until next time," Loki said, before they left in a matter of seconds, reappearing in a forest. Darcy was quiet, pondering over the recent conversation. The sheer bluntness had somehow really affected her and she wasn't sure why. She felt like there was something more to the story. Darcy looked up at Loki.

"Who?" Darcy asked. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?" Loki said.

"Who did you kill? I mean, this guy who you referred to before," Darcy asked, a little afraid of the answer.

"A man named Coulson," Loki answered. "Why do you ask? You already know that I regret my actions."

Darcy blinked. It was the guy who stole her iPod and never gave it back. She wasn't sure how to feel, really.

"You spoke so bluntly, it…scared me," Darcy said lamely. "You speak as if it were just a matter of the weather."

Loki shrugged. "I cannot erase what I did, Darcy. Not with the Time Gem…nothing. Death is something I have never been shy to; I am a warrior and I have killed many people and beings, though before my attempt on Jotunheim, never in cold blood. Even then, there were accidents and deaths that could not be prevented, that were not entirely our fault and yet we feel responsible. Thor―" Loki said.

"Knock it off with all the Thor this and Thor that! I don't know why you keep comparing yourself to him, but it's really pissing me off. You are _you_. Thor doesn't define you. Or shouldn't. Maybe he does…maybe this is where all of this stems from. You're your own person and yet…" Darcy said. She let out a sigh. "Your world just seems like this big ball of violence and war, no different to Earth…you're not Gods, you're just stronger, immortal beings who are far too dangerous for such powers and yet…" Tears dropped down her cheeks. "You scare me, this all scares me and I'm at your mercy. It's terrifying."

She said nothing more, just made a gesture that she couldn't be here anymore before running off in the direction they had intended to go. She ran and ran, because there was a reason he had not just teleported straight to the lake. It meant that he couldn't teleport there, so slightly less chance of him catching her so quickly. It wasn't really meant to be as she could hear him not far behind her. Probably not catching up deliberately. Stupid fast magic man. She pushed herself to go faster and quickly burnt herself out, falling down into the grass in a clearing. She lay there breathing heavily and saw Loki in her peripheral.

"Go away. Leave me alone. I need some space!" Darcy said. He walked out of her peripheral, though she didn't know how far he went nor could she read his expression. Looking dead ahead of herself, she saw that she had fallen in a stunning place. A large, glittering lake surrounded by trees that looked like they were from a fantasy novel. The trunks were a dark blue and the leaves were white and she couldn't tell whether they were glowing or whether she was imagining it. All she knew was that it was beautiful. Darcy didn't know how long she lay there before finally sitting up and pulling her knees to her chest.

"Darcy―" Loki started. She put her hand up and gave him the middle finger before returning it to her knees. She wasn't in the mood for him. She sat there for a moment staring at the lake. This must be it, where the Time Gem was. Maybe she would grab it and use it to bribe him to take her home. She stood up and kicked her shoes and socks off, realising she was still in the silly Asgardian clothes. Who was she kidding…it was freakin' hot! But she wasn't as enthusiastic as usual. Darcy felt sadness swelling within her and she wasn't sure why. What was she grieving over? Coulson wasn't someone she knew very well other than the brief time in New Mexico, so it couldn't really be that. It was something else. She carried on towards the lake, but she looked down at her dress and little armour piece, sighing. Darcy looked around and saw Loki a little way back.

"Turn around unless you want me to tase your balls off," Darcy said fiercely. Loki frowned petulantly, but turned around. His damn fault for making her taser stronger, otherwise he wouldn't be affected now, right? Idiot. She managed to take the armour off and then the dress, letting them fall to the floor. She took her underwear off, every so often making sure Loki kept to his word. Leaving that with her dress, she waded into the lake slowly, getting to a point where a little of her breasts were covered. Darcy didn't know what was in this water, but it was suddenly becoming clear to her. Why she felt this sadness. Now that she was here, it seemed all too obvious; how had she not noticed before?

She loved him.

She scrunched up her face and tried to stop the tears. _You will not cry. Don't cry in front of him. Don't give him the satisfaction_. The worst part was, he wouldn't return her feelings. Did she want him to? She didn't want these feelings to start with.

 _You are a delight to travel with, Darcy. If the circumstances were different, I am sure we would have been perfect for each other._

Darcy raised her hands to her face and tried to dab at the tears…but her hands were wet, so it was useless. They dropped to her sides as the sobbing took its full course. She didn't want this. She didn't _need_ this. Why her? Why was she so _stupid_? Falling in love with the God of Mischief and Lies. A man she had grown to trust and yet, could she? He wouldn't return her feelings; he already said that he couldn't be with her under these circumstances. She wanted to scream. She didn't hear the shift in the water until Loki was right in front of her, looming over her, leaving her staring at his bare chest. She looked up at him, still sobbing.

"Wh..why…get out…" Darcy uttered, unable to get anything out. Why was he naked? "Whe…where are your clothes?"

"I phased out of them," Loki answered unhelpfully, making her hit him in the chest, but that only made her retract her hand as if burnt.

"Eugh," Darcy said. "Go away." She couldn't stop sobbing. His chest felt _good_. Damn him. Then he had the audacity to put his hands on her back and pull her against him.

"The White Lake is a lake of truth and purity, clothes are not really appropriate to enter the lake," Loki answered properly.

"Sure," Darcy said, sniffling and ignoring how good it felt to be in his arms.

"Darcy, whatever is the matter?" Loki asked.

Before she knew what she was doing, she answered him honestly. "You wouldn't understand. I'm in _love_ with you and it hurts, because I know it's just…it can't happen…won't happen," Darcy said, her voice thick with emotion. Silence fell between them and she felt uncomfortable being so close to him. Especially with both of them naked. Luckily she had her arms squeezed in front of her. The perv couldn't feel her breasts, at least. Score one to her. She felt him pull back and she felt regretful. She wanted the closeness back and she cursed herself for it. His hands left her back and cupped her face, making her face him. She couldn't read his expression. Normally she was very good at reading people, but he was the most difficult so far. Then he was leaning down and kissing her. She let out a gasp and he wrapped his arms around her. He hadn't even taken advantage of the moment she opened her mouth; the kiss was innocent, gentle and if he wasn't holding her up, she probably would have fallen over, her knees felt like jelly. She relaxed a little and wound her arms around him, which gave him the opportunity to pull her closer. Mouth-to-mouth and chest-to-chest (mostly, he was a little taller than her), it felt…she felt physical feelings she had never really experienced before.

He pulled back, which gave her the opportunity for air. He just stared into her eyes for a few moments before kissing her again and she reached up, putting her fingers into his long hair and just brushing them through it. It was soft and surprisingly silky. She barely registered when he wasn't kissing her mouth anymore, but she soon felt the wonderful sensations left by his kisses down her neck. She squeezed her legs shut even more as she felt the kisses send jolts south. She wanted him. They weren't dating, she didn't even know how to label their relationship, but she wanted him. So much. He stopped kissing her above the dip that led between her breasts and looked up at her.

"Why did you stop?" Darcy asked breathlessly.

"Do you really want this?" Loki asked.

"Yes…all of it…I want you, Loki. Please," Darcy whispered. The tears had dried. Loki straightened up again to kiss her lips.

"Truly? This is not the tears talking?" Loki asked. Was he…making sure he wasn't taking advantage of her vulnerable state?

"Yes, I want you," Darcy said softly. "Just…gently."

"So you _are_ a virgin?" Loki asked, teasing in his tone. She hit him in the chest.

"Yes, perv. I am," Darcy said, before Loki took her lips again and deepened it this time. Holy…he could kiss. He could definitely kiss. She was sure he could finish her with just his lips and tongue. He then took his ministrations down her chin, slowly down her throat and her collarbone, going down and, well, she couldn't blame him for remaining at her breasts for a slightly longer amount of time, before carrying on downwards. It must be magic that allowed him to dip under the water. Down, down, dow-

Darcy found her hands holding onto his head and her legs somewhat wrapped around him as he sent her reeling. She would have expressed a few profanities if her voice hadn't left her. All these feelings and he was _only using his tongue_. Silvertongue indeed. She found herself shuddering and she lost her grip on his head even before he surfaced from the water, making a bit of a flail as she landed in the water some more. She sincerely hoped she hadn't spoilt the mood there. She felt him pick her up and right her, reaching down to kiss her. She should be repulsed, because she knew where that mouth had been, but it didn't taste any different…the pure water really was magical. She tried to lift her legs up to wrap them around him, but she was still jelly-legged after that _experience._ He helped her out, thankfully and she wrapped her arms around his neck, feeling him as she kissed him. Loki was gentle, as she had asked, and it was nothing like what she had imagined all those lonely nights in college.

If someone had asked her months ago, back before she had met him or even just after, she wouldn't have pegged him to be such an attentive lover. Then again, she wouldn't have really known what to say about him. Probably along the lines of him being unable to get anyone desperate enough that they'd sleep with him. Did that make her the desperate one? No, because she had gotten to know him and she…she loved him.

"Do not panic, trust my magic," Loki whispered in her ear. She nodded and kissed his neck as he let them both fall back into the water, diving underneath as they moved together. It was a strange experience, being able to breathe while underwater, but it was beautiful. They were floating (was that the word when you were underwater? Honestly, she wasn't sure) into the deeper parts, and it was magnificent. The water was crystal clear and it looked like one of those exotic ocean floors, except this was a lake. Mind-boggling. To top it all off, his hair fanned out in a rather lovely way. She wasn't able to think anymore, though, as the feelings in her body took over her mind and she kissed his neck, for the lack of much else she could reach as she felt the familiar feeling build up for the second time in…how long was it? She didn't know. She couldn't _think_. They lay in some sort of silky exotic plant and it wasn't long until she felt her toes curl…

Oh my…

Once separated, he pulled her closer again to just hold. They lay there quietly for a little while before he stood up (water made it look so easy!) and he bent his knees, shooting them up to the surface. He was a great swimmer and it made her look like she couldn't swim. Loki carried her out of the water and sat down on a bed of flowers, lying down and pulling her on top of him. Darcy didn't feel cold either, so that must be more magic. She lay with her head tucked under his chin. He was stroking her back lazily, which felt nice.

"That was…wonderful," Loki murmured.

"It was," Darcy breathed, stroking his collarbone. Darcy liked that he was strong and had some tone, but wasn't overly muscley. He was handsome, dark-haired and those green eyes…she was probably ruined for anyone else. She found she didn't care right now. Darcy was content.

"Where's Eryyi?" Darcy asked.

"I highly doubt she would care to watch humanoids procreating, hm?" Loki teased.

"True…" Darcy said. Then the words settled and she realised something. She started to sit up quickly. "Shit we didn't use―"

Loki pulled her back down. "I have a spell on me that prevents pregnancy," Loki said. Darcy sighed in relief and rested her head back on his chest.

"Can we just stay here for a bit? A few days maybe?" Darcy asked. "Just...I don't know."

"Of course, I think we need a break. We can also look for the Time Gem in the meantime," Loki said. "For now…relax."

Darcy smiled and closed her eyes. "Thank you," Darcy murmured.

* * *

 **Author's note:** Chapter title borrowed from a song title from Final Fantasy X, "Suteki da ne" and to be honest if you've seen the sequence from that game with that song, then you can see where I was inspired. :D


End file.
